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THE  BOOK  OF 
NATURE  MYTHS 


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V 


FROM  THE  WIGWAM    OF  THE  GREAT   SPIRIT    (page  2) 


§  (I 


fSYCH. 
UBRARY 


THE   BOOK   OF 
NATURE  MYTHS 


BY  FLORENCE  HOLBROOK 

PRINCIPAL    OF   FORESTVILLE   SCHOOL,   CHICAGO 


BOSTON  NEW  YORK  CHICAGO 
HOUGHTON   MIFFLIN  COMPANY 


COPYRIGHT   1902  BY  HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  ft  Ca 
ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


EDUC 
UBRAr> 


CONTENTS. 


M 


The  Story  of  the  First  Humming-bird. 

Part  I.   The  Great  Fire-mountain 1 

Part  II.   The  Frolic  of  the  Flames 4 

Part  III.   The  Bird  of  Flame 7 

The  Story  of  the  First  Butterflies 10 

The  Story  of  the  First  Woodpecker 13 

Why  the  Woodpecker's  Head  is  Red 15 

Why  the  Cat  always  falls  upon  her  Feet 19 

Why  the  Swallow's  Tail  is  Forked 23 

Why  the  White  Hares  have  Black  Ears 28 

Why  the  Magpie's  Nest  is  not  well  built 31 

Why  the  Raven's  Feathers  Xre  Black 34 

How  Fire  was  brought  to  the  Indians. 

Part  I.   Seizing  the  Firebrand 36 

Part  II.   The  Firebrand  in  the  Forest 40 

Part  III.   The  Firebrand  in  the  Pond 41 

How  the  Quail  became  a  Snipe 43 

Why  the  Serpent  sheds  his  Skin 47 

Why  the  Dove  is  Timid 60 

Why  the  Parrot  repeats  the  Words  of  Men    ....  62 

The  Story  op  the  First  Mocking-bird 66 

Why  the  Tail  of  the  Fox  has  a  White  Tip      ....  60 

The  Story  of  the  First  Frogs 64 

Why  the  Rabbit  is  Timid 68 

Why  the  Peetweet  cries  for  Rain 70 

Why  the  Bear  has  a  Short  Tail 72 

Why  the  Wren  flies  Close  to  the  Earth 76 

Why  the  Hoofs  of  the  Deer  are  Split 79 

The  Story  of  the  First  Grasshopper 83 


VI  CONTENTS. 

The  Story  of  the  Oriole 86 

Why  the  Peacock's  Tail  has  a  Hundred  Eyes  ....    89 

The  Story  of  the  Bees  and  the  Flies 93 

The  Story  of  the  First  Moles 96 

The  Story  of  the  First  Ants 98 

The  Face  of  the  Manito 103 

The  Story  of  the  First  Diamonds 107 

The  Story  of  thb  First  Pearls Ill 

The  Story  of  the  First  Emeralds 114 

Why  the  Evergreen  Trees  never  lose  their  Leaves    .  118 

Why  the  Aspen  Leaves  tremble 122 

How  THE  Blossoms  came  to  the  Heather 126 

How  Flax  was  given  to  Men 128 

Why  the  Juniper  has  Berries 133 

Why  the  Sea  is  Salt 135 

The  Story  of  the  First  Whitefish    .    .    • 138 

Was  it  the  First  Turtle  ? 142 

Why  the  Crocodile  has  a  Wide  Mouth 145 

The  Story  of  the  Picture  on  the  Vase 150 

Why  the  Water  in  Rivers  is  never  Still 155 

How  THE  Raven  helped  Men 160 

The  Story  of  the  Earth  and  the  Sky 165 

How  Summer  came  to  the  Earth. 

Part  1 169 

Part  II 172 

The  Story  of  the  First  Snowdrops .  175 

Why  the  Face  of  the  Moon  is  White 179 

Why  all  Men  love  the  Moon 184 

Why  there  is  a  Hare  in  the  Moon 188 

The  Children  in  the  Moon 193 

Why  there  is  a  Man  in  the  Moon o  197 

The  Twin  Stars 200 

The  Lantern  and  the  Fan 204 

Vocabulary >  211 


PREFACE. 

In  preparing  the  Book  of  Nature  Myths  the  de- 
sire has  been  to  make  a  second  reader  which  would 
be  adapted  to  the  child's  interest,  ability,  and  pro- 
gress. 

The  subject-matter  is  of  permanent  value,  culled 
from  the  folk-lore  of  the  primitive  races ;  the  vocab- 
ulary, based  upon  that  of  the  Hiawatha  Primer,  is 
increased  gradually,  and  the  new  words  and  phrases 
will  add  to  the  child's  power  of  expression.  The 
naive  explanations  of  the  phenomena  of  nature  given 
by  the  primitive  races  appeal  to  the  child's  wonder 
about  the  same  phenomena,  and  he  is  pleased  and 
interested.  These  myths  will  gratify  the  child's 
desire  for  complete  stories,  and  their  intrinsic  merit 
makes  them  valuable  for  oral  reproduction. 

The  stories  have  beeii  adapted  to  youthful  minds 
from  myths  contained  in  the  works  of  many  students 
of  folk-lore  whose  scholarship  is  undisputed.  Special 
acknowledgment  is  due  Miss  Eva  March  Tappan 
for  her  valuable  assistance  in  the  final  revision  of 
the  text. 


THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  FIRST  HUMMING- 
BIRD. 

PART  I.    THE  GREAT  FIRE-MOUNTAIN. 

Long,  long  ago,  when  the  earth  was  very 
young,  two  hunters  were  traveling  through 
the  forest.  They  had  been  on  the  track  of 
a  deer  for  many  days,  and  they  were  now  far 
away  from  the  village  where  they  lived. 
The  sun  went  down  and  night  came  on. 
It  was  dark  and  gloomy,  but  over  in  the 
western  sky  there  came  a  bright  light. 

"  It  is  the  moon,"  said  one. 

"  No,"  said  the  other.  "  We  have  watched 
many  and  many  a  night  to  see  the  great, 
round  moon  rise  above  the  trees.  That  is 
not  the  moon.     Is  it  the  northern  lights  ?  " 

"  No,  the  northern  lights  are  not  like 
this,  and  it  is  not  a  comet.  What  can  it 
be?" 


-3     Ti 


2  TfiE  B5018:  OF  NATtJRE  MYTHSc 

It  is  no  wonder  that  the  hunters  were 
afraid,  for  the  flames  flared  red  over  the 
sky  like  a  wigwam  on  fire.  Thick,  blue 
smoke  floated  above  the  flames  and  hid  the 
shining  stars. 

**  Do  the  flames  and  smoke  come  from 
the  wigwam  of  the  Great  Spirit?"  asked 
one. 

"  I  fear  that  he  is  angry  with  his  children, 
and  that  the  flames  are  his  fiery  war-clubs," 
whispered  the  other.  No  sleep  came  to 
their  eyes.  All  night  long  they  watched 
and  wondered,  and  waited  in  terror  for  the 
morning. 

When  morning  came,  the  two  hunters 
were  still  watching  the  sky.  Little  by  little 
they  saw  that  there  was  a  high  mountain 
in  the  west  where  the  light  had  been,  and 
above  the  mountain  floated  a  dark  blue 
smoke.  **  Come,"  said  one,  "  we  will  go  and 
see  what  it  is." 

They  walked  and  walked  till  they  came 
close  to  the  mountain,  and  then  they  saw 
fire  shining  through  the  seams  of  the  rocks. 


THE  FIRST  HUMMING-BIRDo  3 

"  It  is  a  mountain  of  fire,"  one  whispered. 
"  Shall  we  go  on  ?  "  "  We  will,"  said  the 
other,  and  they  went  higher  and  higher  up 
the  mountain.  At  last  they  stood  upon  its 
highest  point.  "  Now  we  know  the  secret,*' 
they  cried.  **  Our  people  will  be  glad  when 
they  hear  this." 

Swiftly  they  went  home  through  the  for- 
est to  their  own  village^  "  We  have  found  a 
wonder,"  they  cried.  "  We  have  found  the 
home  of  the  Fire  Spirit.  We  know  where 
she  keeps  her  flames  to  help  the  Great 
Spirit  and  his  children.  It  is  a  mountain 
of  fire.  Blue  smoke  rises  above  it  night  and 
day,  for  its  heart  is  a  fiery  sea,  and  on 
the  sea  the  red  flames  leap  and  dance. 
Come  with  us  to  the  wonderful  mountain 
of  fire." 

The  people  of  the  village  had  been  cold 
in  the  winter  nights,  and  they  cried,  "  O 
brothers,  your  words  are  good.  We  will 
move  our  lodges  to  the  foot  of  the  magic 
mountain.  We  can  light  our  wigwam  fires 
from  its  flames,  and  we  shall  not  fear  that 


4      THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

we  shall  perish  in  the  long,  cold  nights  of 
winter." 

So  the  Indians  went  to  live  at  the  foot  of 
the  fire -mountain,  and  when  the  cold  nights 
came,  they  said,  **  We  are  not  cold,  for  the 
Spirit  of  Fire  is  our  good  friend,  and  she 
keeps  her  people  from  perishing." 

PART  II.  THE  FROLIC  OF  THE  FLAMES. 

For  many  and  many  a  moon  the  people 
of  the  village  lived  at  the  foot  of  the  great 
fire-mountain.  On  summer  evenings,  the 
children  watched  the  light,  and  when  a 
child  asked,  **  Father,  what  makes  it  .^  "  the 
father  said,  "  That  is  the  home  of  the  Great 
Spirit  of  Fire,  who  is  our  good  friend." 
Then  all  in  the  little  village  went  to  sleep 
and  lay  safely  on  their  beds  till  the  coming 
of  the  morning. 

But  one  night  when  all  the  people  in  the 
village  were  asleep,  the  flames  in  the  moun- 
tain had  a  great  frolic.  They  danced  upon 
the  sea  of  fire  as  warriors  dance  the  war- 
dance.     They  seized  great  rocks  and  threw 


THE  FIRST  HUMMING-BIRD. 


them  at  the  sky.  The  smoke  above  them 
hid  the  stars ;  the  mountain  throbbed  and 
trembled.  Higher  and  still  higher  sprang 
the  dancing  flames.  At  last,  they  leaped 
clear  above  the  highest  point  of  the  moun- 
tain and  started  down  it  in  a  river  of  red 
fire.     Then  the  gentle  Spirit  of  Fire  called, 


6      THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

"  Come  back,  my  flames,  come  back  again  ! 
The  people  in  the  village  will  not  know 
that  you  are  in  a  frolic,  and  they  will  be 
afraid." 

The  flames  did  not  heed  her  words,  and 
the  riyer  of  fire  ran  on  and  on,  straight  down 
the  mountain.  The  flowers  in  its  pathway 
perished.  It  leaped  upon  great  trees  and 
bore  them  to  the  earth.  It  drove  the  birds 
from  their  nests,  and  they  fluttered  about 
in  the  thick  smoke.  It  hunted  the  wild 
creatures  of  the  forest  from  the  thickets 
where  they  hid,  and  they  fled  before  it  in 
terror. 

At  last,  one  of  the  warriors  in  the  village 
awoke.  The  thick  smoke  was  in  his  nostrils. 
In  his  ears  was  the  war-cry  of  the  flames. 
He  sprang  to  the  door  of  his  lodge  and  saw 
the  fiery  river  leaping  down  the  mountain. 
"My  people,  my  people,"  he  cried,  "the 
flames  are  upon  us !  "  With  cries  of  fear 
the  people  in  the  village  fled  far  away  into 
the  forest,  and  the  flames  feasted  upon  the 
homes  they  loved. 


THE  FIRST  HUMMING-BIRD.  t 

The  two  hunters  went  to  look  upon  the 
mountain,  and  when  they  came  back,  they 
said  sadly,  "  There  are  no  flowers  on  the 
mountain.  Not  a  bird-song  did  we  hear. 
Not  a  living  creature  did  we  see.  It  is  all 
dark  and  gloomy.  We  know  the  fire  is 
there,  for  the  blue  smoke  still  floats  up  to 
the  sky,  but  the  mountain  will  never  again 
be  our  friend." 

PART  III.     THE  BIRD   OF  FLAME. 

When  the  Great  Spirit  saw  the  work  of 
the  flames,  he  was  very  angry.  **  The  fires 
of  this  mountain  must  perish,"  he  said. 
"  No  longer  shall  its  red  flames  light  the 
midnight  sky." 

The  mountain  trembled  with  fear  at  the 
angry  words  of  the  Great  Spirit.  "  O  father 
of  all  fire  and  light,"  cried  the  Fire  Spirit, 
"  I  know  that  the  fiames  have  been  crueL 
They  killed  the  beautiful  flowers  and  drove 
your  children  from  their  homes,  but  for 
many,  many  moons  they  heeded  my  words 
and  were  good  and  gentle.    They  drove  the 


8      THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

frost  and  cold  of  winter  from  the  wigwams 
of  the  village.  The  little  children  laughed 
to  see  their  red  light  in  the  sky.  The 
hearts  of  your  people  will  be  sad,  if  the 
flames  must  perish  from  the  earth." 

The  Great  Spirit  listened  to  the  words  of 
the  gentle  Spirit  of  Fire,  but  he  answered, 
"  The  fires  must  perish.  They  have  been 
cruel  to  my  people,  and  the  little  children 
will  fear  them  now ;  but  because  the  children 
once  loved  them,  the  beautiful  colors  of  the 
flames  shall  still  live  to  make  glad  the  hearts 
of  all  who  look  upon  them." 

Then  the  Great  Spirit  struck  the  moun- 
tain with  his  magic  war-club.  The  smoke 
above  it  faded  away  ;  its  fires  grew  cold  and 
dead.  In  its  dark  and  gloomy  heart  only 
one  little  flame  still  trembled.  It  looked 
like  a  star.     How  beautiful  it  was ! 

The  Great  Spirit  looked  upon  the  little 
flame.  He  saw  that  it  was  beautiful  and 
gentle,  and  he  loved  it.  "  The  fires  of  the 
mountain  must  perish,"  he  said,  "  but  you, 
little,  gentle  flame,  shall  have  wings  and  fly 


THE  FIRST  HUMMING-BIRD.  « 

far  away  from  the  cruel  fires,  and  all  my 
children  will  love  you  as  I  do."  Swiftly  the 
little  thing  rose  above  the  mountain  and 
flew  away  in  the  sunshine.  The  light  of 
the  flames  was  still  on  its  head  ;  their  mar- 
velous colors  were  on  its  wings. 

So  from  the  mountain's  heart  of  fire  sprang 


the  first  humming-bird.  It  is  the  bird  of 
flame,  for  it  has  all  the  beauty  of  the  colors 
of  the  flame,  but  it  is  gentle,  and  every 
child  in  all  the  earth  loves  it  and  is  glad  to 
see  it  fluttering  over  the  flowers. 


iO     THE  BOOK  OF  NATUEE  MYTHS. 

THE  STOEY  OF  THE  FIEST  BUTTER- 
FLIES. 

The  Great  Spirit  thought,  **  By  and  by  I 
will  make  men,  but  first  I  will  make  a  home 
for  them.  It  shall  be  yery  bright  and  beau- 
tiful. There  shall  be  mountains  and  prairies 
and  forests,  and  about  it  all  shall  be  the  blue 
waters  of  the  sea." 

As  the  Great  Spirit  had  thought,  so  he 
did.  He  gave  the  earth  a  soft  cloak  of  green. 
He  made  the  prairies  beautiful  with  flowers. 
The  forests  were  bright  with  birds  of  many 
colors,  and  the  sea  was  the  home  of  wonder- 
ful sea-creatures.  "  My  children  will  loye 
the  prairies,  the  forests,  and  the  seas,"  he 
thought,  "  but  the  mountains  look  dark  and 
cold.  They  are  yery  dear  to  me,  but  how 
shall  I  make  my  children  go  to  them  and 
so  learn  to  loye  them  ?  " 

Long  the  Great  Spirit  thought  about  the 
mountains.  At  last,  he  made  many  little 
shining  stones.  Some  were  red,  some  blue, 
gome  green,  some  yellow,  and  some  were 


THE  FIRST  BUTTERFLIES.  11 

shining  with  all  the  lovely  colors  of  the 
beautiful  rainbow.  '*  All  my  children  will 
loye  what  is  beautiful,"  he  thought, "  and  if 
I  hide  the  bright  stones  in  the  seams  of  the 
rocks  of  the  mountains,  men  will  come  to 
find  them,  and  they  will  learn  to  loye  my 
mountains." 

When  the  stones  were  made  and  the 
Great  Spirit  looked  upon  their  beauty,  he 
said,  **  I  will  not  hide  you  all  away  in  the 
seams  of  the  rocks.  Some  of  you  shall  be 
out  in  the  sunshine,  so  that  the  little  chil- 
dren who  cannot  go  to  the  mountains  shall 
see  your  colors."  Then  the  southwind  came 
by,  and  as  he  went,  he  sang  softly  of  forests 
flecked  with  light  and  shadow,  of  birds  and 
their  nests  in  the  leafy  trees.  He  sang  of 
long  summer  days  and  the  music  of  waters 
beating  upon  the  shore.  He  sang  of  the 
moonlight  and  the  starlight.  All  the  won- 
ders of  the  night,  all  the  beauty  of  the  morn- 
ing, were  in  his  song. 

"  Dear  southwind,"  said  the  Great  Spirit 
"  here  are  some  beautiful  things  for  you  to 


12 


THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 


bear  away  with  you  to  your  summer  home. 
You  will  love  them,  and  all  the  little  chil- 
dren will  love  them."  At  these  words  of 
the  Great  Spirit,  all  the  stones  before  him 
stirred  with  life  and  lifted  themselves  on 
many-colored  wings.     They  fluttered  away 


in  the  sunshine,  and  the  southwind  sang  to 
them  as  they  went. 

So  it  was  that  the  first  butterflies  came 
from  a  beautiful  thought  of  the  Great  Spirit, 
and  in  their  wings  were  all  the  colors  of  the 
shining  stones  that  he  did  not  wish  to  hide 
away. 


THE  FIRST  WOODPECKER  13 

THE  STORY   OF  THE  FIRST  WOOD- 
PECKER. 

In  the  days  of  long  ago  tlie  Great  Spirit 
came  down  from  the  sky  and  talked  with 
men.  Once  as  he  went  up  and  down  the 
earth,  he  came  to  the  wigwam  of  a  woman. 
He  went  into  the  wigwam  and  sat  down  by 
the  fire,  but  he  looked  like  an  old  man,  and 
the  woman  did  not  know  who  he  was. 

**I  have  fasted  for  many  days,^'  said  the 
Great  Spirit  to  the  woman.  *'Will  you  give 
me  some  food?''  The  woman  made  a  very 
little  cake  and  put  it  on  the  fire.  '*  You  can 
have  this  cake,''  she  said,  ''it  you  will  wait 
for  it  to  bake."     ^'I  will  wait,"  he  said. 

When  the  cake  was  baked,  the  woman 
stood  and  looked  at  it.  She  thought,  '*It  is 
very  large.  I  thought  it  was  small.  I  will 
not  give  him  so  large  a  cake  as  that."  So 
she  put  it  away  and  made  a  small  one.  **If 
you  will  wait,  I  will  give  you  this  when  it  is 
baked,"  she  said,  and  the  Great  Spirit  said, 
*^ I  will  wait." 


U     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

When  that  cake  was  baked,  it  was  larger 
than  the  first  one.  "  It  is  so  large  that  I 
will  keep  it  for  a  feast,"  she  thought.  So  she 
said  to  her  guest,  "  I  will  not  give  you  this 
cake,  but  if  you  will  wait,  I  will  make  you 
another  one.'*  "  I  will  wait,"  said  the  Great 
Spirit  again. 

Then  the  woman  made  another  cake.  It 
was  still  smaller  than  the  others  had  been  at 
first,  but  when  she  went  to  the  fire  for  it, 
she  found  it  the  largest  of  all.  She  did  not 
know  that  the  Great  Spirit's  magic  had  made 
each  cake  larger,  and  she  thought,  "  This  is  a 
marvel,  but  I  will  not  give  away  the  largest 
cake  of  all."  So  she  said  to  her  guest,  "  I 
have  no  food  for  you.  Go  to  the  forest  and 
look  there  for  your  food.  You  can  find  it 
in  the  bark  of  the  trees,  if  you  will." 

The  Great  Spirit  was  angry  when  he  heard 
the  words  of  the  woman.  He  rose  up  from 
where  he  sat  and  threw  back  his  cloak.  "A 
woman  must  be  good  and  gentle,"  he  said, 
"  and  you  are  cruel.  You  shall  no  longer 
be  a  woman  and  live  in  a  wigwam.    You 


WHY  THE  WOODPECKER^S  HEAD  IS  RED.     16 

shall  go  out  into  the  forest  and  hunt  for 
your  food  in  the  bark  of  trees." 

The  Great  Spirit  stamped  his  foot  on  the 
earth,  and  the  woman  grew  smaller  and 
smaller.  Wings  started  from  her  body  and 
feathers  grew  upon  her.  With  a  loud  cry 
she  rose  from  the  earth  and  flew  away  to 
the  forest. 

And  to  this  day  all  woodpeckers  live  in 
the  forest  and  hunt  for  their  food  in  the 
bark  of  trees. 


WHY  THE  WOODPECKER'S  HEAD  IS  RED. 

One  day  the  woodpecker  said  to  the  Great 
Spirit,  **  Men  do  not  like  me.  I  wish  they 
did." 

The  Great  Spirit  said,  "  If  you  wish  men  to 
love  you,  you  must  be  good  to  them  and  help 
them.   Then  they  will  call  you  their  friend/' 

"  How  can  a  little  bird  help  a  man  ?  " 
asked  the  woodpecker. 

"  If  one  wishes  to  help,  the  day  will  come 
when  he  can  help,"  said  the  Great  Spirit. 


1«     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

The  day  did  come,  and  this  story  shows  ho^ 
a  little  bird  helped  a  strong  warrior. 

There  was  once  a  cruel  magician  who 
lived  in  a  gloomy  wigwam  beside  the  Black- 
Sea- Water.  He  did  not  like  flowers,  and 
they  did  not  blossom  in  his  pathway.  He 
did  not  like  birds,  and  they  did  not  sing  in 
the  trees  above  him.  The  breath  of  his  nos- 
trils was  fatal  to  all  life.  North,  south,  east, 
and  west  he  blew  the  deadly  fever  that 
killed  the  women  and  the  little  children. 

"  Can  I  help  them  ? "  thought  a  brave 
warrior,  and  he  said,  **  I  will  find  the  magi- 
cian, and  see  if  death  will  not  come  to  him 
as  he  has  made  it  come  to  others.  I  will 
go  straightway  to  his  home." 

For  many  days  the  brave  warrior  was  in 
his  canoe  traveling  across  the  Black-Sea- 
Water.  At  last  he  saw  the  gloomy  wigwam 
of  the  cruel  magician.  He  shot  an  arrow  at 
the  door  and  called,  "  Come  out,  0  coward  ! 
You  have  killed  women  and  children  with 
your  fatal  breath,  but  you  cannot  kill  a  war- 
rior. Come  out  and  fight,  if  you  are  not 
afraid." 


WHY  THE  WOODPECKER'S  HEAD  IS  RED.    It 

The  cruel  magician  laughed  loud  and  long. 
"  One  breath  of  fever,''  he  said,  **  and  you 
will  fall  to  the  earth."  The  warrior  shot 
again,  and  then  the  magician  was  angry. 
He  did  not  laugh,  but  he  came  straight  out 
of  his  gloomy  lodge,  and  as  he  came,  he  blew 
the  fever  all  about  him. 

Then  was  seen  the  greatest  fight  that  the 
sun  had  ever  looked  upon.  The  brave  war- 
rior shot  his  flint-tipped  arrows,  but  the 
magician  had  on  his  magic  cloak,  and  the 
arrows  could  not  wound  him.  He  blew 
from  his  nostrils  the  deadly  breath  of  fever, 
but  the  heart  of  the  warrior  was  so  strong 
that  the  fever  could  not  kill  him. 

At  last  the  brave  warrior  had  but  three 
arrows  in  his  quiver.  "  What  shall  I  do  ?  " 
he  said  sadly.  **  My  arrows  are  good  ancJ 
my  aim  is  good,  but  no  arrow  can  go  through 
the  magic  cloak." 

"  Come  on,  come  on,"  called  the  magician. 
"  You  are  the  man  who  wished  to  fight. 
Come  on."  Then  a  woodpecker  in  a  tree 
above  the  brave  warrior  said  softly,  "  Aim 


18     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

your  arrow  at  his  head,  O  warrior !  Do  not 
shoot  at  his  heart,  but  at  the  crest  of 
feathers  on  his  head.  He  can  be  wounded 
khere,  but  not  in  his  heart." 

The  warrior  was  not  so  proud  that  he 
"jould  not  Ksten  to  a  little  bird.  The  magi- 
jian  bent  to  lift  a  stone,  and  an  arrow  flew 
from  the  warrior's  bow.  It  buzzed  and  stung 
like  a  wasp.  It  came  so  close  to  the  crest 
of  feathers  that  the  magician  trembled  with 
terror.  Before  he  could  run,  another  arrow 
came,  and  this  one  struck  him  right  on  his 
crest.  His  heart  grew  cold  with  fear. 
"  Death  has  struck  me,"  he  cried. 

"  Your  cruel  life  is  over,"  said  the  war- 
rior. "  People  shall  no  longer  fear  your 
fatal  breath."  Then  he  said  to  the  wood- 
pecker, "  Little  bird,  you  have  been  a  good 
friend  to  me,  and  I  will  do  all  that  I  can 
for  you."  He  put  some  of  the  red  blood  of 
the  magician  upon  the  little  creature's  head. 
It  made  the  crest  of  feathers  there  as  red  as 
flame.  "  Whenever  a  man  looks  upon  you," 
said  the  warrior,  "  he  will  say,  *  That  bird 


WHY  THE  CAT  FALLS  UPON  HER  FEET.      19 

is  our  friend.     He  helped  to  kill  the  cruel 
magician/  " 

The  little  woodpecker  was  very  proud  of 


his  red  crest  because  it  showed  that  he  was 
the  friend  of  man,  and  all  his  children  to 
this  day  are  as  proud  as  he  was. 


WHY  THE  CAT  ALWAYS  FALLS   UPON 
HER  FEET. 

Some  magicians  are  cruel,  but  others  are 
gentle  and  good  to  all  the  creatures  of  the 
earth.  One  of  these  good  magicians  was 
one  day  traveling  in  a  great  forest.  The 
sun  rose  high  in  the  heavens,  and  he  la) 
down  at  the  foot  of  a  tree.  Soft,  green 
moss  grew  all  about  him.     The  sun  shining 


to  THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

lirough  the  leaves  made  flecks  of  light  and 
shadow  upon  the  earth.  He  heard  the  song 
of  the  bird  and  the  lazy  buzz  of  the  wasp. 
The  wind  rustled  the  leafy  boughs  above 
him.  All  the  music  of  the  forest  lulled  him 
to  slumber,  and  he  closed  his  eyes. 

As  the  magician  lay  asleep,  a  great  ser- 
pent came  softly  from  the  thicket.  It  lifted 
high  its  shining  crest  and  saw  the  man  at 
the  foot  of  the  tree.  **  I  will  kill  him! ''  it 
hissed.  **  I  could  have  eaten  that  cat  last 
night  if  he  had  not  called,  '  Watch,  little 
cat,  watch ! '  I  will  kill  him,  I  will  kill 
him  ! '' 

Closer  and  closer  the  deadly  serpent  moved. 
The  magician  stirred  in  his  sleep.  "  Watch, 
little  cat,  watch  !  "  he  said  softly.  The  ser- 
pent drew  back,  but  the  magician's  eyes 
were  shut,  and  it  went  closer.  It  hissed 
its  war-cry.  The  sleeping  magician  did  not 
move.  The  serpent  was  upon  him  —  no,  far 
up  in  the  high  branches  of  the  tree  above  his 
head  the  little  cat  lay  hidden.  She  had  seen 
the  serpent  when  it  came  from  the  thicket. 


SHE  LEAPED  DOWN  UPON  THE  SERPENT 


22     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

She  watched  it  as  it  went  closer  and  closer 
to  the  sleeping  man,  and  she  heard  it  hiss 
its  war-cry.  The  little  cat's  body  quivered 
with  anger  and  with  fear,  for  she  was  sf 
little  and  the  serpent  was  so  big.  "  The  ma 
gician  was  very  good  to  me,"  she  thought, 
and  she  leaped  down  upon  the  serpent. 

Oh,  how  angry  the  serpent  was  !  It  hissed, 
and  the  flames  shot  from  its  eyes.  It  struck 
wildly  at  the  braye  little  cat,  but  now  the 
cat  had  no  fear.  Again  and  again  she  leaped 
upon  the  serpent's  head,  and  at  last  the 
creature  lay  dead  beside  the  sleeping  man 
whom  it  had  wished  to  kill. 

When  the  magician  awoke,  the  little  cat 
lay  on  the  earth,  and  not  far  away  was  the 
dead  serpent.  He  knew  at  once  what  the 
cat  had  done,  and  he  said,  "  Little  cat,  what 
can  I  do  to  show  you  honor  for  your  brave 
fight?  Your  eyes  are  quick  to  see,  and 
your  ears  are  quick  to  hear.  You  can  run 
very  swiftly.  I  know  what  I  can  do  fot 
you.  You  shall  be  known  over  the  earth 
93  the  friend  of  man^  and  j^ou  shall  always 


WHY  THE  SWALLOW'S  TAIL  IS  FORKED.    23 

have  a  home  in  the  home  of  man.  And  one 
thing  more,  little  cat :  you  leaped  from  the 
high  tree  to  kill  the  deadly  serpent,  and 
now  as  long  as  you  live,  you  shall  leap  where 
you  will,  and  you  shall  always  fall  upon  your 
feet." 


WHY  THE  SWALLOW'S  TAIL  IS  FORKED. 

This  is  the  story  of  how  the  swallow's 
tail  came  to  be  forked. 

One  day  the  Great  Spirit  asked  all  the 
animals  that  he  had  made  to  come  to  his 
lodge.  Those  that  could  fly  came  first : 
the  robin,  the  bluebird,  the  owl,  the  butter- 
fly, the  wasp,  and  the  firefly.  Behind  them 
came  the  chicken,  fluttering  its  wings  and 
trying  hard  to  keep  up.  Then  came  the 
deer,  the  squirrel,  the  serpent,  the  cat,  anc 
the  rabbit.  Last  of  all  came  the  bear,  the 
beaver,  and  the  hedgehog.  Every  one  trav* 
eled  as  swiftly  as  he  could,  for  each  wished 
to  hear  the  words  of  the  Great  Spirit. 

^*  J  IjavQ  caJQed  j^ou  together/'  s^id  the 


24     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

Great  Spirit,  "because  I  often  hear  you 
scold  and  fret.  What  do  you  wish  me  to 
do  for  you  ?     How  can  I  help  you  ?  '* 

**  I  do  not  like  to  hunt  so  long  for  my 
food,"  said  the  bear. 

"  I  do  not  like  to  build  nests,"  said  the 
bluebird. 

**  I  do  not  like  to  live  in  the  water,"  said 
the  beaver. 

"  And  I  do  not  like  to  live  in  a  tree,"  said 
the  squirrel. 

At  last  man  stood  erect  before  the  Great 
Spirit  and  said,  **  O  Great  Father,  the  ser- 
pent feasts  upon  my  blood.  Will  you  not 
give  him  some  other  food  ?  " 

"  And  why  ?  "  asked  the  Great  Spirit. 

"Because  I  am  the  first  of  all  the  crea- 
tures you  have  made,"  answered  man 
proudly. 

Then  every  animal  in  the  lodge  was  angry 
to  hear  the  words  of  man.  The  squirrel 
chattered,  the  wasp  buzzed,  the  owl  hooted, 
and  the  serpent  hissed. 

"  Hush,  be  still,"  said  the  Great  Spirit. 


WHY  THE  SWALLOW'S  TAIL  IS  FORKED.     25 

"  You  are,  0  man,  the  first  of  my  creatures, 
but  I  am  the  father  of  all.  Each  one  has 
his  rights,  and  the  serpent  must  have  his 
food.  Mosquito,  you  are  a  great  traveler. 
Now  fly  away  and  find  what  creature's  blood 
is  best  for  the  serpent.  Do  you  all  come 
back  in  a  year  and  a  day." 

The  animals  straightway  went  to  their 
homes.  Some  went  to  the  river,  some  to 
the  forest,  and  some  to  the  prairie,  to  wait 
for  the  day  when  they  must  meet  at  the 
lodge  of  the  Great  Spirit. 

The  mosquito  traveled  over  the  earth  and 
stung  every  creature  that  he  met  to  find 
whose  blood  was  the  best  for  the  serpent. 
On  his  way  back  to  the  lodge  of  the  Great 
Spirit  he  looked  up  into  the  sky,  and  there 
was  the  swallow. 

•'  Good-day,  swallow,"  called  the  mos- 
quito. 

**  I  am  glad  to  see  you,  my  friend,"  sang 
the  swallow.  **  Are  you  going  to  the  lodge 
of  the  Great  Spirit  ?  And  have  you  found 
out  whose  blood  is  best  for  the  serpent  ?  '* 


26     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

"  The  blood  of  man,"  answered  the  mo»< 
quito. 

The  mosquito  did  not  like  man,  but  the 
swallow  had  always  been  his  friend.  **  What 
can  I  do  to  help  man  ?  "  he  thought.  **0h, 
I  know  what  I  can  do."  Then  he  asked 
the  mosquito,  **  Whose  blood  did  you  say  ?" 

"  Man's  blood,"  said  the  mosquito ;  **  that 
is  best." 

"  This  is  best,"  said  the  swallow,  and  he 
tore  out  the  mosquito's  tongue. 

The  mosquito  buzzed  angrily  and  went 
quickly  to  the  Great  Spirit. 

**  All  the  animals  are  here,"  said  the 
Great  Spirit.  "  They  are  waiting  to  hear 
whose  blood  is  best  for  the  serpent." 

The  mosquito  tried  to  answer,  "  The  blood 
of  man,"  but  he  could  not  say  a  word.  He 
could  make  no  sound  but  **  Kss-ksss-ksssss  !  " 

**  What  do  you  say  ?  " 

**  Kss-ksss-ksssss  !  "  buzzed  the  mosquito 
angrily. 

All  the  creatures  wondered.  Then  said 
the  swallow :  — 


WHY  THE  SWALLOW'S  TAIL  IS  FORKED.     27 

"  Great  Father,  the  mosquito  is  timid  and 
cannot  answer  you.  I  met  him  before  we 
came,  and  he  told  me  whose  blood  it  was." 

"  Then  let  us  know  at  once,''  said  the 
Great  Spirit. 

"  It  is  the  blood  of  the  frog,"  answered 


28     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

the  swallow  quickly.  "  Is  it  not  so,  friend 
mosquito  ?  '* 

**  Kss-ksss-ksssss  ! "  hissed  the  angry  mos- 
quito. 

"  The  serpent  shall  have  the  frog's  blood," 
said  the  Great  Spirit.  "  Man  shall  be  his 
food  no  longer." 

Now  the  serpent  was  angry  with  the 
swallow,  for  he  did  not  like  frog's  blood. 
As  the  swallow  flew  near  him,  he  seized  him 
by  the  tail  and  tore  away  a  little  of  it.  This 
is  why  the  swallow's  tail  is  forked,  and  it  is 
why  man  always  looks  upon  the  swallow  as 
his  friend. 


WHY  THE  WHITE  HARES  HAVE  BLACK 

EARS. 

In  the  forest  there  is  a  beautiful  spirit. 
All  the  beasts  and  all  the  birds  are  dear  to 
him,  and  he  likes  to  have  them  gentle  and 
good.  One  morning  he  saw  some  of  his  little 
white  hares  fighting  one  another,  and  each 
trying  to  seize  the  best  of  the  food. 


WHY  WHITE   HARES  HAVE  BLACK  EARS.     29 

"  Oh,  my  selfish  little  hares,"  he  said  sadly, 
"  why  do  you  fight  and  try  to  seize  the  best 
of  everything  for  yourselves  ?  Why  do  you 
not  live  in  love  together  ?  " 

"  Tell  us  a  story  and  we  will  be  good," 
cried  the  hares. 

Then  the  spirit  of  the  forest  was  glad. 
"  I  will  tell  you  a  story  of  how  you  first 
came  to  live  on  the  green  earth  with  the 
other  animals,''  he  said,  **  and  why  it  is  that 
you  are  white,  and  the  other  hares  are 
not." 

Then  the  little  hares  came  close  about 
the  spirit  of  the  forest,  and  sat  very  still  to 
hear  the  story. 

"  Away  up  above  the  stars,"  the  gentle 
spirit  began,  **  the  sky  children  were  all  to- 
gether one  snowy  day.  They  threw  snow- 
flakes  at  one  another,  and  some  of  the 
snowflakes  fell  from  the  sky.  They  came 
down  swiftly  between  the  stars  and  among 
the  branches  of  the  trees.  At  last  they  lay 
on  the  green  earth.  They  were  the  first 
that  had  ever  come  to  the  earth,  and  no  one 


30     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

knew  what  they  were.  The  swallow  asked. 
'What  are  they?'  and  the  butterfly  an- 
swered, *  I  do  not  know/  The  spirit  of  the 
iky  was  listening,  and  he  said,  *We  call 
them  snowflakes/ 

"  *  I  never  heard  of  snowflakes.  Are  they 
birds  or  beasts  ?  '  asked  the  butterfly. 

"*They  are  snowflakes,'  answered  the 
spirit  of  the  sky,  *  but  they  are  magic  snow- 
flakes.     Watch  them  closely.' 

**  The  swallow  and  the  butterfly  watched. 
Every  snowflake  showed  two  bright  eyes, 
then  two  long  ears,  then  some  soft  feet,  and 
there  were  the  whitest,  softest  little  hares 
that  were  ever  seen." 

**  Were  we  the  little  white  hares  ?  "  asked 
the  listeners. 

"  You  were  the  little  white  hares,"  an- 
swered the  spirit,  **  and  if  you  are  gentle 
and  good,  you  will  always  be  white." 

The  hares  were  not  gentle  and  good ;  they 
were  fretful,  and  before  long  they  were 
scolding  and  fighting  again.  The  gentle 
spirit  was  angry.     "  I  must  get  a  firebrand 


WHY  THE  MAGPIE'S  NEST  IS  NOT  WELL  BUILT.  31 

and  beat  them  with  it,"  he  said,  **  for  they 
must  learn  to  be  good/' 

So  the  hares  were  beaten  with  the  fire- 
brand till  their  ears  were  black  as  night. 
Their  bodies  were  still  white,  but  if  the 
spirit  hears  them  scolding  and  fighting  again, 
it  may  be  that  we  shall  see  their  bodies  as 
black  as  their  ears. 


WHY  THE  MAGPIE'S  NEST  IS  NOT 
WELL  BUILT. 

A  LONG  time  ago  all  the  birds  met  together 
to  talk  about  building  nests. 

"Every  Indian  has  a  wigwam,"  said  the 
robin,  "  and  every  bird  needs  a  home." 

**  Indians  have  no  feathers,"  said  the  owl, 
"  and  so  they  are  cold  without  wigwams. 
We  have  feathers." 

"  I  keep  warm  by  fiying  swiftly,"  said  the 
swallow. 

"  And  I  keep  warm  by  fiuttering  my 
wings,"  said  the  humming-bird. 

"  By  and  by  we  shall  have  our  little  ones," 


32     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

said  the  robin.  **  They  will  have  no  feathers 
on  their  wings,  so  they  cannot  fly  or  flutter ; 
and  they  will  be  cold.  How  shall  we  keep 
them  warm  if  we  have  no  nests  ?  " 

Then  all  the  birds  said,  "  We  will  build 
nests  so  that  our  little  ones  will  be  warm.'* 

The  birds  went  to  work.  One  brought 
twigs,  one  brought  moss,  and  one  brought 
leaves.  They  sang  together  merrily,  for 
they  thought  of  the  little  ones  that  would 
some  time  come  to  live  in  the  warm  nests. 

Now  the  magpie  was  lazy,  and  she  sat 
still  and  watched  the  others  at  their  work. 

"  Come  and  build  your  nest  in  the  reeds 
and  rushes,"  cried  one  bird,  but  the  magpie 
said  **  No.'* 

"  My  nest  is  on  the  branch  of  a  tree," 
called  another,  **  and  it  rocks  like  a  child's 
cradle.  Come  and  build  beside  it,"  but  the 
magpie  said  **No." 

Before  long  all  the  birds  but  the  magpie 
had  their  nests  built.  The  magpie  cried, 
**  I  do  not  know  how  to  build  a  nest.  Will 
you  not  help  me  ?  " 

The  other  birds  were  sorry  for  her  and 


WHY  THE  MAGPIE'S  NEST  IS  NOT  WELL  BUILT.  33 

answered,  **  We  will  teach  you."  The  black- 
bird said,  "  Put  the  twigs  on  this  bough;  '* 
the   robin  said,  **  Put  the  leaves  between 


the  twigs ; "  and  the  humming-bird  said, 
"  Put  this  soft  green  moss  oyer  it  all." 

"  I  do  not  know  how,"  cried  the  magpie. 

"  We  are  teaching  you,"  said  the  other 
birds.  But  the  magpie  was  lazy,  and  she 
thought,  **  If  I  do  not  learn,  they  will  build 
a  nest  for  me." 

The  other  birds  talked  together.  **  She 
does  not  wish  to  learn,"  they  said,  "  and  we 
will  not  help  her  any  longer."  So  they 
went  away  from  her. 

Then  the  magpie  was  sorry.  "  Come 
back,"  she  called,  *'  and  I  will  learn."     But 


U  THE  BOOlt  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

by  this  time  the  other  birds  had  eggs  in 
their  nests,  and  they  were  busy  taking  care 
of  them,  and  had  no  time  to  teach  the  lazy 
magpie.  This  is  why  the  magpie's  nest  is 
not  well  built. 


WHY  THE  RAVEN'S  FEATHERS  ARE 
BLACK. 

Long,  long  ago  the  raven's  feathers  were 
white  as  snow.  He  was  a  beautiful  bird, 
but  the  other  birds  did  not  like  him  because 
he  was  a  thief.  When  they  saw  him  coming, 
they  would  hide  away  the  things  that  they 
cared  for  most,  but  in  some  marvelous  way 
he  always  found  them  and  took  them  to  his 
nest  in  the  pine-tree. 

One  morning  the  raven  heard  a  little  bird 
singing  merrily  in  a  thicket.  The  leaves  of 
the  trees  were  dark  green,  and  the  little 
bird's  yellow  feathers  looked  like  sunshine 
among  them. 

**  I  will  have  that  bird,"  said  the  raven, 
Uid  he  seized  the  trembling  little  thing. 


WHY  THE  RAVEN'S  FEATHERS  ARE  BLACK.  35 

The  yellow  bird  fluttered  and  cried, 
''  Help,  help  !  Will  no  one  come  and  help 
me!" 

The  other  birds  happened  to  be  far  away, 
and  not  one  heard  her  cries.  *'  The  raven 
will  kill  me,"  she  called.     "  Help,  help  !  " 

Now  hidden  in  the  bark  of  a  tree  was  a 
wood-worm. 

**  I  am  only  a  wood-worm,"  he  said  to 
himself,  **  and  I  cannot  fly  like  a  bird,  but 
the  yellow  bird  has  been  good  to  me,  and  I 
will  do  what  I  can  to  help  her." 

When  the  sun  set,  the  raven  went  to 
sleep.  Then  the  wood-worm  made  his  way 
softly  up  the  pine-tree  to  the  raven's  nest, 
and  bound  his  feet  together  with  grass  and 
pieces  of  birch-bark. 

**Fly  away,"  whispered  the  wood-worm 
softly  to  the  little  yellow  bird,  "  and  come 
to  see  me  by  and  by.  I  must  teach  the 
raven  not  to  be  cruel  to  the  other  birds." 

The  little  yellow  bird  flew  away,  and  the 
wood-worm  brought  twigs,  and  moss,  and 
birch-bark,  and  grass,  and  put  them  around 


36     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

the  tree.  Then  he  set  them  all  on  fire.  Up 
the  great  pine-tree  went  the  flames,  leaping 
from  bough  to  bough. 

"  Fire  !  fire  !  "  cried  the  raven.  "  Come 
and  help  me  !     My  nest  is  on  fire  !  " 

The  other  birds  were  not  sorry  to  see 
him  flutter.  **  He  is  a  thief,"  said  they. 
"  Let  him  be  in  the  fire." 

By  and  by  the  fire  burned  the  grass  and 
the  pieces  of  birch-bark  that  fastened  his 
feet  together,  and  the  raven  flew  away.  He 
was  not  burned,  but  he  could  no  longer  be 
proud  of  his  shining  white  feathers,  for  the 
smoke  had  made  every  one  of  them  as  black 
as  night. 


HOW   FIRE  WAS  BROUGHT  TO   THE 
INDIANS. 

PART    I.     SEIZING  THE   FIREBRAND. 

Oh,  it  was  so  cold !  The  wind  blew  the 
leaves  about  on  the  ground.  The  frost 
spirit  hid  on  the  north  side  of  every  tree, 
and  stung  every  animal  of  the  forest  that 


flow  FIRE  WAS  BROUGHT  TO  THE  INDIANS.      87 

came  near.  Then  the  snow  fell  till  the 
ground  was  white.  Through  the  snowflakes 
one  could  see  the  sun,  but  the  sun  looked 
cold,  for  it  was  not  a  clear,  bright  yellow. 
It  was  almost  as  white  as  the  moon. 

The  Indians  drew  their  cloaks  more  and 
more  closely  around  them,  for  they  had  no 
fire. 

"  How  shall  we  get  fire  ?  "  they  asked, 
but  no  one  answered. 

All  the  fire  on  earth  was  in  the  wigwam 
of  two  old  women  who  did  not  like  the 
Indians. 

**  They  shall  not  haye  it,''  said  the  old 
women,  and  they  watched  night  and  day  so 
that  no  one  could  get  a  firebrand. 

At  last  a  young  Indian  said  to  the  others, 
"  No  man  can  get  fire.  Let  us  ask  the 
animals  to  help  us." 

"What  beast  or  what  bird  can  get  fire 
when  the  two  old  women  are  watching  it  ?  " 
the  others  cried. 

**  The  bear  might  get  it." 

"  No,  he  cannot  run  swiftly." 


38     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

"  The  deer  can  run." 

"  His  antlers  would  not  go  through  the 
door  of  the  wigwam." 

"  The  raven  can  go  through  the  door." 

**  It  was  smoke  that  made  the  raven's 
feathers  black,  and  now  he  always  keeps 
away  from  the  fire." 

"  The  serpent  has  not  been  in  the  smoke." 

"No,  but  he  is  not  our  friend,  and  he 
will  not  do  anything  for  us." 

"  Then  I  will  ask  the  wolf,"  said  the 
young  man.  **  He  can  run,  he  has  no  ant- 
lers, and  he  has  not  been  in  the  smoke." 

So  the  young  man  went  to  the  wolf  and 
called,  "  Friend  wolf,  if  you  will  get  us  a 
firebrand,  I  will  give  you  some  food  every 
day." 

"  I  will  get  it,"  said  the  wolf.  "  Go  to 
the  home  of  the  old  women  and  hide  be- 
hind a  tree  ;  and  when  you  hear  me  cough 
three  times,  give  a  loud  war-cry." 

Close  by  the  village  of  the  Indians  was  a 
pond.  In  the  pond  was  a  frog,  and  near 
the  pond  lived  a  squirrel,  a  bat,  a  bear,  and 


HOW  FIRE  WAS  BROUGHT  TO  THE  INDIANS.      39 

a  deer.  The  wolf  cried,  **  Frog,  hide  in  the 
rushes  across  the  pond.  Squirrel,  go  to  the 
bushes  beside  the  path  that  runs  from  the 
pond  to  the  wigwam  of  the  two  old  women. 
Bat,  go  into  the  shadow  and  sleep  if  you 
Uke,  but  do  not  close  both  eyes.  Bear,  do 
not  stir  from  behind  this  great  rock  till  you 
are  told.  Deer,  keep  still  as  a  mountain  till 
something  happens." 

The  wolf  then  went  to  the  wigwam  of 
the  two  old  women.     He  coughed   at  the 


door,  and  at  last  they  said,  **  Wolf,  you  may 
come  in  to  the  fire." 

The  wolf  went   into   the  wigwam.     He 
coughed  three  times,  and  the  Indian  gave  a 


40      THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

war-cry.  The  two  old  women  ran  out  quickly 
into  the  forest  to  see  what  had  happened, 
and  the  wolf  ran  away  with  a  firebrand 
from  the  fire. 

PART  II.     THE   FJREBRAND  IN  THE   FOREST. 

When  the  two  women  saw  that  the  wolf 
had  the  firebrand,  they  were  yery  angry, 
and  straightway  they  ran  after  him. 

**  Catch  it  and  run  !  "  cried  the  wolf,  and 
he  threw  it  to  the  deer.  The  deer  caught 
it  and  ran. 

**  Catch  it  and  run !  ''  cried  the  deer,  and 
he  threw  it  to  the  bear.  The  bear  caught 
it  and  ran. 

"  Catch  it  and  fly !  "  cried  the  bear,  and 
he  threw  it  to  the  bat.  The  bat  caught  it 
and  flew. 

"  Catch  it  and  run  ! ''  cried  the  bat,  and 
he  threw  it  to  the  squirrel.  The  squirrel 
caught  it  and  ran. 

**  Oh,  serpent,"  called  the  two  old  women. 
"  you  are  no  friend  to  the  Indians.  Help 
us.  Get  the  firebrand  away  froiu  the 
squirrel/' 


HOW  FIRE  WAS  BROUGHT  TO  THE  INDIANS.      41 

As  the  squirrel  ran  swiftly  over  the 
ground,  the  serpent  sprang  up  and  tried  to 
seize  the  firebrand.  He  did  not  get  it,  but 
the  smoke  went  into  the  squirrel's  nostrils 
and  made  him  cough.  He  would  not  let  go 
of  the  firebrand,  but  ran  and  ran  till  he 
could  throw  it  to  the  frog. 

When  the  frog  was  running  away  with  it, 
then  the  squirrel  for  the  first  time  thought 
of  himself,  and  he  found  that  his  beautiful 
bushy  tail  was  no  longer  straight,  for  the 
fire  had  curled  it  up  over  his  back. 

**  Do  not  be  sorry,*'  called  the  young  In- 
dian across  the  pond.  **  Wheneyer  an  Indian 
boy  sees  a  squirrel  with  his  tail  curled  up 
over  his  back,  he  will  throw  him  a  nut." 

PART   III.     THE   FIREBRAND   IN  THE   POND. 

All  this  time  the  firebrand  was  burning, 
and  the  frog  was  going  to  the  pond  as  fast 
as  he  could.  The  old  women  were  running 
after  him,  and  when  he  came  to  the  water, 
one  of  them  caught  him  by  the  tail. 

"  I  have  caught  him !  "  she  called. 


43     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

"  Do  not  let  him  go  !  "  cried  the  other. 

"  No,  I  will  not,"  said  the  first ;  but  she  did 
let  him  go,  for  the  little  frog  tore  himself 
away  and  dived  into  the  water.  His  tail 
was  still  in  the  woman's  hand,  but  the  fire- 
brand was  safe,  and  he  made  his  way  swiftly 
across  the  pond. 

"  Here  it  is,"  said  the  frog. 

"  Where  ? "  asked  the  young  Indian. 
Then  the  frog  coughed,  and  out  of  his 
mouth  came  the  firebrand.  It  was  small, 
for  it  had  been  burning  all  this  time,  but  it 
set  fire  to  the  leaves  and  twigs,  and  soon 
the  Indians  were  warm  again.  They  sang 
and  they  danced  about  the  flames. 

At  first  the  frog  was  sad,  because  he  was 
sorry  to  lose  his  tail ;  but  before  long  he  was 
as  merry  as  the  people  who  were  dancing, 
for  the  young  Indian  said,  **  Little  frog, 
you  have  been  a  good  friend  to  us,  and  as 
long  as  we  live  on  the  earth,  we  will 
never  throw  a  stone  at  a  frog  tha^t  Ijas  no 


HOW  THE  QUAIL  BECAME  A  SNIPE.        43 

HOW  THE  QUAIL  BECAME  A  SNIPE. 

"  It  is  lonely  living  in  this  great  tree  far 
away  from  the  other  birds,"  said  the  owl  to 
herself.  **  I  will  get  some  one  to  come  and 
live  with  me.  The  quail  has  many  children, 
and  I  will  ask  her  for  one  of  them." 

The  owl  went  to  the  quail  and  said, 
"Will  you  let  me  have  one  of  your  chil- 
dren to  come  and  live  with  me  ?  " 

**  Live  with  you  ?  No,"  answered  the 
quail.  "  I  would  as  soon  let  my  child 
live  with  the  serpent.  You  are  hidden  in 
the  tree  all  day  long,  and  when  it  is  dark, 
you  come  down  like  a  thief  and  catch  little 
animals  that  are  fast  asleep  in  their  nests. 
You  shall  never  have  one  of  my  children." 

**  I  loill  have  one,"  thought  the  owl. 

She  waited  till  the  night  had  come.  It  was 
dark  and  gloomy,  for  the  moon  was  not  to 
be  seen,  and  not  a  star  twinkled  in  the  sky. 
Not  a  leaf  stirred,  and  not  a  ripple  was  on 
the  pond.  The  owl  crept  up  to  the  quail's 
home  as  softly  as  she  could.     The  young 


44      THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

birds  were  chattering  together,  and  she  lis- 
tened to  their  talk. 

"  My  mother  is  gone  a  long  time,"  said 
one.     "  It  is  lonely,  and  I  am  afraid." 

"What  is  there  to  be  afraid  of?"  asked 
another.  "  You  are  a  little  coward.  Shut 
your  eyes  and  go  to  sleep.  See  me !  I  am 
not  afraid,  if  it  is  dark  and  gloomy.  Oh, 
oh !  "  cried  the  boaster,  for  the  owl  had 
seized  him  and  was  carrying  him  away  from 
home  and  his  little  brothers. 

When  the  mother  quail  came  home,  she 
asked,  "Where  is  your  brother.?"  The 
little  quails  did  not  know.  All  they  could 
say  was  that  something  had  seized  him  in 
the  darkness  and  taken  him  away. 

"  It  crept  up  to  the  nest  in  the  dark," 
said  one. 

"  And  oh,  mother,  never,  never  go  away 
from  us  again  !  "  cried  another.  "  Do  not 
leave  us  at  home  all  alone." 

"  But,  my  dear  little  ones,"  the  mother 
said,  "  how  could  you  have  any  food  if  I 
never  went  away  from  our  home  ?  " 


HOW   THE*  QUAIL   BECAME   A  SNIPE.        45 

The  mother  quail  was  yery  sad,  and  she 
would  have  been  still  more  sorrowful  if  she 
had  known  what  was  happening  to  her  little 
son  far  away  in  the  owFs  nest.  The  cruel 
owl  had  pulled  and  pulled  on  the  quail's 
bill  and  legs,  till  they  were  so  long  that  his 
mother  would  not  have  known  him. 

One  night  the  mole  came  to  the  quail 
and  said,  **  Your  little  son  is  in  the  owl's 
nest." 

*'  How  do  you  know  ?  "  asked  the  quail. 

"  I  cannot  see  very  well,"  answered  the 
mole,  "  but  I  heard  him  call,  and  I  know 
that  he  is  there." 

**  How  shall  I  get  him  away  from  the 
owl.^  "  the  quail  asked  the  mole. 

**  The  owl  crept  up  to  your  home  in  the 
dark,"  said  the  mole,  **  but  you  must  go  to 
her  nest  at  sunrise  when  the  light  shines  in 
her  eyes  and  she  cannot  see  you." 

At  sunrise  the  quail  crept  up  to  the  owl's 
nest  and  carried  away  her  dear  little  son  to 
his  old  home.  As  the  light  grew  brighter, 
she  saw  what  had  happened  to  him.     His 


46      THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

bill  and  his  legs  were  so  long  that  he  did 
not  look  like  her  son. 

"  He  is  not  like  our  brother,"  said  the 
other  little  quails. 

**  That  is  because  the  cruel  owl  that 
carried  him  away  has  pulled  his  bill  and  his 
legs,"  answered  the  mother  sorrowfully. 
**  You  must  be  yery  good  to  him." 

But  the  other  little  quails  were  not  good 
to  him.  They  laughed  at  him,  and  the  quail 
with  the  long  bill  and  legs  was  never  again 
merry  and  glad  with  them.  Before  long  he 
ran  away  and  hid  among  the  great  reeds 
that  stand  in  the  water  and"  on  the  shores 
of  the  pond. 

"  I  will  not  be  called  quail,"  he  said  to 
himself,  "for  quails  never  have  long  bills 
and  legs.  I  will  have  a  new  name,  and  it 
shall  be  snipe.  I  like  the  sound  of  that 
name." 

So  it  was  that  the  bird  whose  name  was 
once  quail  came  to  be  called  snipe.  His 
children  live  among  the  reeds  of  the  pond, 
and  they,  too,  are  called  snipes. 


WHY  THE  SERPENT  SHEDS  HIS  SKIN.      47 

WHY  THE  SERPENT  SHEDS  HIS  SKIN. 

The  serpent  is  the  grandfather  of  the  owl, 
and  once  upon  a  time  if  the  owl  needed 
help,  she  would  say,  **  My  grandfather  will 
come  and  help  me,'*  but  now  he  never 
comes  to  her.     This  story  tells  why. 

When  the  owl  carried  away  the  little 
quail,  she  went  to  the  serpent  and  said, 
"  Grandfather,  you  will  not  tell  the  quail 
that  I  haye  her  son,  will  you  ?  ** 

"  No,"  answered  the  serpent,  **  I  will 
keep  your  secret.  I  will  not  whisper  it  to 
any  one."  So  when  the  mother  quail  asked 
all  the  animals,  "  Can  you  tell  me  who  has 
carried  away  my  little  son  ?  "  the  serpent 
answered,  **  I  have  been  sound  asleep. 
How  could  I  know  ?  " 

After  the  quail  had  become  a  snipe  and 
had  gone  to  live  in  the  marsh  among  the 
reeds,  the  cruel  owl  looked  everywhere  for 
him,  and  at  last  she  saw  him  standing  beside 
a  great  stone  in  the  water. 

She    went    to     the    serpent    and    said, 


48      THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

**  Grandfather,  will  you  do  something  for 
me  ?  " 

"  I  will/'  hissed  the  serpent  softly. 
"  What  is  it  ?  " 

"  Only  to  take  a  drink  of  water,"  an- 
swered the  owl.  "  Come  and  drink  all  the 
water  in  the  marsh,  and  then  I  can  catch 
the  quail  that  I  made  into  a  snipe." 

The  serpent  drank  and  drank,  but  still 
there  was  water  in  the  marsh. 

"  Why  do  you  not  drink  faster  ?  "  cried 
the  owl.     "  I  shall  never  get  the  snipe." 

The  serpent  drank  till  he  could  drink  no 
more,  and  still  the  water  stood  in  the  marsh. 
The  owl  could  not  see  well  by  day,  and 
the  serpent  could  not  see  above  the  reeds 
and  rushes,  so  they  did  not  know  that 
the  water  from  the  pond  was  coming  into 
the  marsh  faster  than  the  serpent  could 
drink  it. 

Still  the  serpent  drank,  and  at  last  his  skin 
burst. 

"  Oh,"  he  cried,  "  my  skin  has  burst. 
Help  me  to  fasten  it  together," 


WHY  THE   SERPENT  SHEDS  HIS  SKIN.      49 

"  My  skin  never  bursts/'  said  the  owl. 
"  If  you  will  drink  the  water  from  the 
marsh,  I  will  help  you,  but  I  will  not 
fasten  any  skin  together  till  I  get  that 
snipe." 

The  serpent  had  done  all  that  he  could 
to  help  the  owl,  and  now  he  was  angry. 
He  was  afraid,  too,  for  he  did  not  know 
what  would  happen  to  him,  and  he  lay  on 
the  ground  trembling  and  quivering.  It 
was  not  long  before  his  old   skin   fell   off, 


and  then  he  saw  that  under  it  was  a  beau- 
tiful new  one,  all  bright  and  shining.  He 
sheds  his  old  skin  every  year  now,  but 
never  again  has  he  done  anything  to  help 
the  owl. 


50      THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

WHY  THE   DOVE  IS  TIMID. 

A  SPIRIT  called  the  manito  always  watches 
over  the  Indians.  He  is  glad  when  they  are 
brave,  but  if  they  are  cowardly,  he  is  angry. 

One  day  when  the  manito  was  walking 
under  the  pine-trees,  he  heard  a  cry  of  ter- 
ror in  the  forest. 

"  What  is  that  ?  ''  said  he.  "  Can  it  be 
that  any  of  my  Indian  children  are  afraid  ?  " 

As  he  stood  listening,  an  Indian  boy  came 
running  from  the  thicket,  crying  in  fear. 

**  What  are  you  afraid  of?"  asked  the 
manito. 

"  My  mother  told  me  to  go  into  the  for- 
est with  my  bow  and  arrows  and  shoot  some 
animal  for  food,'*  said  the  boy. 

**  That  is  what  all  Indian  boys  must  do," 
said  the  manito.  **  Why  do  you  not  do  as 
she  said  ?  " 

"  Oh,  the  great  bear  is  in  the  forest,  and 
I  am  afraid  of  him  !  " 

"  Afraid  of  Hoots  ?  "  asked  the  manito, 
"  An  Indian  boy  must  never  be  afraid." 


WHY  THE  DOVE  IS  TIMID.  61 

**  But  Hoots  will  eat  me,  I  know  he  will," 
cried  the  boy.     **  Boo-hoo,  boo-hoo  !  *' 

**  A  boy  must  be  brave,"  said  the  manito, 
"  and  I  will  not  have  a  coward  among  my 
Indians.  You  are  too  timid  ever  to  be  a 
warrior,  and  so  you  shall  be  a  bird.  When- 
ever Indian  boys  look  at  you,  they  will  say, 
*  There  is  the  boy  who  was  afraid  of  Hoots.'  " 

The  boy's  cloak  of  deerskin  fell  off,  and 
feathers  came  out  all  over  his  body.  His 
feet  were  no  longer  like  a  boy's  feet,  they 
were  like  the  feet  of  a  bird.  His  bow  and 
arrows  fell  upon  the  grass,  for  he  had  no 
longer  any  hands  with  which  to  hold  them. 
He  tried  to  call  to  his  mother,  but  the  only 
sound  he  could  make  was  "  Hoo,  hoo !  " 

"  Now  you  are  a  dove,"  said  the  manito, 
"  and  a  dove  you  shall  be  as  long  as  you  live. 
You  shall  always  be  known  as  the  most 
timid  of  birds." 

Again  the  dove  that  had  once  been  a  boy 
tried  to  call,  but  he  only  said,  "  Hoo,  hoo  !  " 

"  That  is  the  only  sound  you  will  ever 
make,"  said   the  manito,  "  and   when  the 


52  THE   BOOK   OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

other  boys  hear  it,  they  will  say,  *  Listen ! 
He  was  afraid  of  Hoots,  the  bear,  and  that 
is  why  he  says  Hoo,  hoo  ! ' " 


WHY  THE  PARROT  REPEATS  THE 
WORDS  OP  MEN. 

In  the  olden  times  when  the  earth  was 
young,  all  the  birds  knew  the  language  of 
men  and  could  talk  with  them.  Everybody 
liked  the  parrot,  because  he  always  told 
things  as  they  were,  and  they  called  him 
the  bird  that  tells  the  truth. 

This  bird  that  always  told  the  truth  lived 
with  a  man  who  was  a  thief,  and  one  night 
the  man  killed  another  man's  ox  and  hid 
its  flesh. 

When  the  other  man  came  to  look  for  it 
in  the  morning,  he  asked  the  thief,  *'  Have 
you  seen  my  ox  ?  " 

"  No,  I  have  not  seen  it,"  said  the  man. 

**  Is  that  the  truth  ?  "  the  owner  asked. 

*'Yes,  it  is.  I  have  not  seen  the  ox/' 
repeated  the  man. 


WHY  THE  PARROT  REPEATS  WORDS  OF  MEN.  53 

"Ask  the  parrot,"  said  one  of  the  villagers. 
"  He  always  tells  the  truth/' 

"  O  bird  of  truth,"  said  they  to  the  par- 
rot, "  did  this  man  kill  an  ox  and  hide  its 
flesh?" 

**  Yes,  he  did,"  answered  the  parrot. 

The  thief  knew  well  that  the  yillagers 
would  punish  him  the  next  day,  if  he  could 
not  make  them  think  that  the  parrot  did 
not  always  tell  the  truth. 

"  I  haye  it,"  he  said  to  himself  at  last. 
"  I  know  what  I  can  do." 

When  night  came  he  put  a  great  jar  over 
the  parrot.  Then  he  poured  water  upon 
the  jar  and  struck  it  many  times  with  a 
tough  piece  of  oak.  This  he  did  half  the 
night.  Then  he  went  to  bed  and  was  soon 
fast  asleep. 

In  the  morning  the  men  came  to  punish 
him. 

"  How  do  you  know  that  I  killed  the 
ox  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Because  the  bird  of  truth  says  that  you 
did,"  they  answered. 


U  THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

"  The  bird  of  truth  !  "  he  cried.  **  That 
parrot  is  no  bird  of  truth.  He  will  not 
tell  the  truth  even  about  what  happened 
last  night.  Ask  him  if  the  moon  was 
shining.'* 

**Did  the  moon  shine  last  night  .^"  the 
men  asked. 

**  No/*  answered  the  parrot.  **  There  war 
no  moon,  for  the  rain  fell,  and  there  was  a 
great  storm  in  the  heayens.  I  heard  the 
thunder  half  the  night.** 

"  This  bird  has  always  told  the  truth  be- 
fore,'* said  the  villagers,  "  but  there  was  no 
storm  last  night  and  the  moon  was  bright. 
What  shall  we  do  to  punish  the  parrot  ?  '* 
they  asked  the  thief. 

**  I  think  we  will  no  longer  let  him  live 
in  our  homes,**  answered  the  thief. 

**  Yes,**  said  the  others,  "  he  must  fly 
away  to  the  forest,  and  even  when  there  is  a 
storm,  he  can  no  longer  come  to  our  homes, 
because  we  know  now  that  he  is  a  bird  of  a 
lying  tongue.** 

So  the  parrot  flew  away  sorrowfully  into 


ymS  Bl^D  Hi^S  ALWAYS  TOLD  THE  TRUTH" 


56      THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

the  lonely  forest.  He  met  a  mocking-bird 
and  told  him  what  had  happened. 

**Why  did  you  not  repeat  men's  words 
as  I  do  ?  '[  asked  the  mocking-bird.  **  Men 
always  think  their  own  words  are  good." 

*'  But  the  man's  words  were  not  true," 
said  the  parrot. 

*^  That  is  nothing,"  replied  the  mock- 
ing-bird, laughing.  "  Say  what  they  say, 
and  they  will  think  you  are  a  wonderful 
bird." 

"  Yes,  I  see,"  said  the  parrot  thought- 
fully, "  and  I  will  never  again  be  punished 
for  telling  the  truth.  I  will  only  repeat  the 
words  of  others." 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  FIRST  MOCKING- 
BIRD. 

Far  away  in  the  forest  there  once  lived 
the  most  cruel  man  on  all  the  earth.  He 
did  not  like  the  Indians,  and  he  said  to  him- 
self, **  Some  day  I  will  be  ruler  of  them  all." 
Then  he  thought,  **  There  are  many  brave 


THE  FIRST  MOCKING-BIRD.  57 

warriors  among  the  Indians,  and  I  must  first 
put  them  to  death." 

He  was  cunning  as  well  as  cruel,  and  he 
soon  found  a  way  to  kill  the  warriors.  He 
built  some  wigwams  and  made  fires  before 
them  as  if  people  lived  in  each  one. 

One  day  a  hunter  on  his  way  home  heard 
a  baby  crying  in  one  of  the  wigwams.  He 
went  in,  but  he  never  came  out  again.  An- 
other day  a  hunter  heard  a  child  laughing. 
He  went  in,  but  he  never  came  out  again. 
So  it  was  day  after  day.  One  hunter  heard 
a  woman  talking,  and  went  to  see  who  it 
was ;  another  heard  a  man  calling  to  people 
in  the  other  wigwams,  and  went  to  see  who 
they  were ;  and  no  one  who  once  went  into 
a  wigwam  ever  came  out. 

One  young  brave  had  heard  the  voices, 
but  he  feared  there  was  magic  about  them, 
and  so  he  had  never  gone  into  the  wigwams  ; 
but  when  he  saw  that  his  friends  did  not 
come  back,  he  went  to  the  wigwams  and 
called,  "  Where  are  all  the  people  that  J 
have  heard  talk  and  laugh  ?^^ 


68  THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE   MYTPIS. 

**  Talk  and  laugh,"  said  the  cunning  man 
mockingly. 

**  Where  are  they  ?  Do  you  know  ?  " 
cried  the  brave,  and  the  cunning  man  called, 
"  Do  you  know  ?  "  and  laughed. 

"  Whose  Yoices  have  I  heard  ?  " 

**  Have  I  heard  ?  "  mocked  the  cunning 
man. 

"  I  heard  a  baby  cry." 

"  Cry,"  said  the  cunning  man. 

"  Who  is  with  you  ?  " 

'*You." 

Then  the  young  brave  was  angry.  He 
ran  into  the  first  wigwam,  and  there  he 
found  the  man  who  had  cried  like  a  baby 
and  talked  in  a  voice  like  a  woman's  and 
made  all  the  other  sounds.  The  brave 
caught  him  by  the  leg  and  threw  him  down 
upon  the  earth. 

"It  was  you  who  cried  and  talked  and 
laughed,"   he  said.     "  I   heard  your  voice 
and  now  you  are  going  to  be  punished  foi 
killing  our  braves.     Where  is  my  brother, 
and  where  are  our  friends  ?  " 


THE  FIRST  MOCKING-BIRD.  69 

"  How  do  I  know  ? "  cried  the  man. 
**  Ask  the  sun  or  the  moon  or  the  fire  if 
you  will,  but  do  not  ask  me ; "  and  all  the 
time  he  was  trying  to  pull  the  young  brave 
into  the  flames. 

"  I  will  ask  the  fire,"  said  the  brave. 
**  Fire,  you  are  a  good  friend  to  us  Indians. 
What  has  this  cruel  man  done  with  our 
warriors  ?  '* 

The  fire  had  no  voice,  so  it  could  not 
answer,  but  it  sprang  as  far  away  from  the 
hunter  as  it  could,  and  there  where  the 
flames  had  been  he  saw  two  stone  arrow- 
heads. 

**  I  know  who  owned  the  two  arrowheads," 
said  the  brave.  **  You  have  thrown  my 
friends  into  your  fire.  Now  I  will  do  to 
you  what  you  have  done  to  them." 

He  threw  the  cunning  man  into  the  fire. 
His  head  burst  into  two  pieces,  and  from 
between  them  a  bird  flew  forth.  Its  voice 
was  loud  and  clear,  but  it  had  no  song  of  its 
own.  It  could  only  mock  the  songs  of  other 
birds,  and  that  is  why  it  is  called  the  mock* 
ing-bird. 


60  THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

WHY    THE    TAIL    OF    THE    FOX    HAS    A 
WHITE    TIP. 

**  I  MUST  have  a  boy  to  watch  my  sheep 
and  my  cows,"  thought  an  old  woman,  and 
so  she  went  out  to  look  for  a  boy.  She 
looked  first  in  the  fields  and  then  in  the 
forest,  but  nowhere  could  she  find  a  boy. 
As  she  was  walking  down  the  path  to  her 
home,  she  met  a  bear. 

"  Where  are  you  going  ?  "  asked  the  bear. 

"  I  am  looking  for  a  boy  to  watch  my 
cows  and  my  sheep/'  she  answered. 

**  Will  you  have  me  ?  " 

"  Yes,  if  you  know  how  to  call  my  ani- 
mals gently." 

**  Ugh,  ugh,"  called  the  bear.  He  tried 
to  call  softly,  but  he  had  always  growled 
before,  and  now  he  could  do  nothing  but 
growl. 

**  No,  no,"  said  the  old  woman,  "  your  voice 
is  too  loud.  Every  cow  in  the  field  would 
run,  and  every  sheep  would  hide,  if  you 
should  growl  like  that.  I  will  not  have 
you." 


WHY  THE  FOX»S  TAIL  HAS  A  WHITE  TIP.    61 

Then  the  old  woman  went  on  till  she  met 
a  wolf. 

"  Where  are  you  going,  grandmother  ?  " 
he  asked. 

"  I  am  looking  for  a  boy  to  watch  my 
cows  and  my  sheep,"  she  answered. 

**  Will  you  have  me  ?  "  asked  the  wolf. 

**  Yes,"  she  said,  "  if  you  know  how  to 
call  my  animals  gently." 

''  Ho-y,  ho-y,"  called  the  wolf. 

"  Your  Yoice  is  too  high,"  said  the  old 
woman.  **  My  cows  and  my  sheep  would 
tremble  whenever  they  heard  it.  I  will  not 
have  you." 

Then  the  old  woman  went  on  till  she  met 
a  fox. 

"  I  am  so  glad  to  meet  you,"  said  the  fox. 
"Where  are  you  going  this  bright  morning  ?  " 

**  I  am  going  home  now,"  she  said,  **  for 
I  cannot  find  a  boy  to  watch  my  cows  and 
my  sheep.  The  bear  growls  and  the  wolf 
calls  in  too  high  a  voice.  I  do  not  know  what 
I  can  do,  for  I  am  too  old  to  watch  cows 
and  sheep." 


C2     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

"  Oh,  no,"  said  the  cunning  fox,  **  you  are 
not  old,  but  any  one  as  beautiful  as  you 
must  not  watch  sheep  in  the  fields.  I  shall 
be  very  glad  to  do  the  work  for  you  if  you 
will  let  me." 

**  I  know  that  my  sheep  will  like  you," 
said  she. 

"  And  I  know  that  I  shall  like  them 
dearly,"  said  the  fox. 

"  Can  you  call  them  gently,  Mr.  Fox  ?  " 
she  asked. 

**  Del-dal-halow,  del-dal-halow,"  called 
the  fox,  in  so  gentle  a  voice  that  it  was 
like  a  whisper. 

**That  is  good,  Mr.  Fox,"  said  the  old 
woman.  **  Come  home  with  me,  and  I  will 
take  you  to  the  fields  where  my  animals  go." 

Each  day  one  of  the  cows  or  one  of  the 
sheep  was  gone  when  the  fox  came  home  at 
night.  "  Mr.  Fox,  where  is  my  cow  ?  "  the 
old  woman  would  ask,  or,  **  Mr.  Fox,  where 
is  my  sheep  ?  "  and  the  fox  would  answer 
with  a  sorrowful  look,  '*  The  bear  came  out 
of  the  woods,  and   he   has  eaten  it,"  or, 


WHY  THE   FOX'S  TAIL  HAS  A  WHITE  TIP.   63 

"  The  wolf  came  running  through  the  fields, 
and  he  has  eaten  it." 

The  old  woman  was  sorry  to  lose  her 
sheep  and  her  cows,  but  she  thought,  **  Mr. 
Fox  must  be  even  more  sorry  than  I.  I  will 
go  out  to  the  field  and  carry  him  a  drink  of 
cream." 

She  went  to  the  field,  and  there  stood 
the  fox  with  the  body  of  a  sheep,  for  it 


^ 

?^^p^ai^s^^ 

'^^%s^^ 

^ 

^^i 

*«^  •■•* --v'T**'!t^S^ 

\y,|          iVj 

^^w 

1 

-^^^ 

.<Kt^' 

.«i.wC^i-/^.t 

was  he  who  had  killed  and  eaten  every 
one  that  was  gone.  When  he  saw  the  old 
woman  coming,  he  started  to  run  away. 

"  You  cruel,  cunning  fox  !  "  she  cried. 

She  had  nothing  to  throw  at  him  but  the 


64     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

cream,  so  she  threw  that.  It  struck  the  tip 
of  his  ta£U  and  from  that  day  to  this,  the 
tip  of  the  fox's  tail  has  been  as  white  as 
creanu 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  FEBST  FROG. 

Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  man  who 
had  two  children,  a  boy  and  a  girl,  whom 
he  treated  cruelly.  The  boy  and  the  girl 
talked  together  one  day,  and  the  boy,  Wah- 
wah-hoo,  said  to  his  sister,  **  Dear  little  sis- 
ter, are  you  happy  with  our  father?*' 

**  No,"  answered  the  girl,  whose  name  was 
Hah-hah.  "  He  scolds  me  and  beats  me, 
and  I  can  never  please  him." 

"  He  was  angry  with  me  this  morning," 
said  the  boy,  "  and  he  beat  me  till  the  blood 
came.     See  there !  " 

"  Let  us  run  away,"  said  Hah-hah.  "  The 
beasts  and  the  birds  will  be  good  to  us. 
They  really  Iotc  us,  and  we  can  be  very 
happy  together." 

That  night  the  two  children  ran  away 


THE  FIBST  FROG.  (» 

from  their  cruel  father.  They  went  far  into 
the  forest,  and  at  last  they  found  a  wigwam 
in  which  no  one  lived. 

When  the  father  found  that  Wah-wah- 
hoo  and  his  sister  were  gone,  he  was  very 
unhappy.  He  went  out  into  the  forest  to 
see  if  he  could  find  them.  "  If  they  would 
only  come  again,"  he  said  aloud,  "  I  would 
do  everything  I  could  to  please  them." 

"Do  you  think  he  tells  the  truth?" 
asked  the  wolf. 

**  I  do  not  know,"  answered  the  mosquito. 
"  He  never  treated  them  well  when  they 
were  with  him." 

"  Wolf,"  called  the  father,  "  will  you  tell 
me  where  my  children  are  ?  " 

Wah-wah-hoo  had  once  told  the  wolf 
when  a  man  was  coming  to  shoot  him,  and 
so  the  wolf  would  not  teU  where  they  were. 

**  Mosquito,"  said  the  father,  "  where  are 
my  children  ?  " 

Hah-hah  had  once  helped  the  mosquito 
to  go  home  when  the  wind  was  too  strong 
for  him,  and  so  the  mosquito  would  not  tell. 


66  THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

For  a  long  time  Wah-wah-hoo  and  his 
sister  were  really  happy  in  the  forest,  for 
there  was  no  one  to  scold  them  and  to  beat 
them,  but  at  last  there  was  a  cold,  cold  win- 
ter. All  the  earth  was  covered  with  snow. 
The  animals  had  gone,  and  Wah-wah-hoo 
could  find  no  food.  Death  came  and  bore 
away  the  gentle  Hah-hah.  Wah-wah-hoo 
sat  alone  in  the  gloomy  wigwam  wailing  for 
his  sister.  Then  in  his  sadness  he  threw 
himself  down  from  a  high  mountain  ancj  was 
killed. 

All  this  time  the  father  had  been  looking 
for  his  children,  and  at  last  he  saw  his  son 
lying  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain.  Then 
he  too  wailed  and  cried  aloud,  for  he  was 
really  sorry  that  he  had  treated  them  so 
cruelly.  He  was  a  magician,  and  he  could 
make  his  son  live,  but  he  could  not  make 
him  a  boy  again. 

"  You  shall  be  a  frog,"  said  he,  "  and  you 
shall  make  your  home  in  the  marsh  with 
the  reeds  and  the  rushes.  There  you  shall 
wail  as  loud  as  you  will  for  your  sister,  and 


THE  FIRST  FROG. 


67 


once  every  moon  I  will  come  and  wail  for 
her  with  you.  I  was  cruel  to  you  and  to 
her,  and  so  I  must  live  alone  in  my  gloomy 
wigwam." 

Every  summer  night  one  can  hear  the 
frog  in  the  marsh  wailing  for  his  dear  sister 
Hah-hah.  Sometimes  a  louder  voice  is 
heard,  and  that  is  the  voice  of  the  father 
wailing  because  he  was  so  cruel. 


6S  THE  book:  of  NATURE  MYTHS. 

WHY   THE  RABBIT  IS  TIMID. 

One  night  the  moon  looked  down  from 
the  sky  upon  the  people  on  the  earth  and 
said  to  herself,  **  How  sorrowful  they  look  ! 
I  wish  I  knew  what  troubles  them.  The 
stars  and  I  are  never  sad,  and  I  do  not 
see  why  men  should  be  troubled."  She 
listened  closely,  and  she  heard  the  people 
say,  **  How  happy  we  should  be  if  death 
never  came  to  us.  Death  is  always  before 
us." 

The  path  of  the  moon  lies  across  the  sky, 
and  she  could  not  leave  it  to  go  to  the  earth, 
but  she  called  the  white  rabbit  and  said, 
**  Rabbit,  should  you  be  afraid  to  go  down  to 
the  earth  ?  " 

"  No,"  answered  the  rabbit,  **  I  am  not 
afraid." 

"  The  people  on  the  earth  are  troubled 
because  death  is  before  them.  Now  will 
you  go  to  them  and  whisper,  *  The  moon 
dies  every  night.  You  can  see  it  go  down 
into  the  darkness,  but  when  another  night 


WHY  THE   RABBIT  IS  TIMID.  69 

comes,  then  the  moon  rises  again/  —  can 
you  remember  to  tell  them  that  ?  " 

"Yes/*  said  the  rabbit,  **I  will  remem- 
ber." 

"  Say  this,"  said  the  moon :  "  *  The  moon 
dies,  but  the  moon  rises  again,  and  so  will 
you/" 

The  rabbit  was  so  glad  to  go  to  the  earth 
that  he  danced  and  leaped  and  sprang  and 
frolicked,  but  when  he  tried  to  tell  the 
people  what  the  moon  had  said,  he  could 
not  remember,  and  he  said,  "  The  moon 
says  that  she  dies  and  will  not  rise  again, 
and  so  you  will  die  and  will  not  rise  again." 

The  moon  saw  that  the  people  were  still 
troubled,  and  she  called  the  rabbit  and  asked 
what  he  had  said  to  them. 

"  I  said  that  as  you  die  and  do  not  rise, 
so  they  too  will  die  and  not  rise,"  said  the 
rabbit. 

'*  You  did  not  try  to  remember,  and  you 
must  be  punished,"  said  the  moon,  and  she 
fired  an  arrow  tipped  with  flint  at  the 
rabbit. 


70      THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

The  arrow  struck  the  rabbit's  lip  and  split 
it.  From  that  time  every  rabbit  has  had  a 
split  lip.  The  rabbit  was  afraid  of  the  moon, 
and  he  was  afraid  of  the  people  on  the  earth 
He  had  been  brave  before,  but  now  he  is  the 
most  timid  of  animals,  for  he  is  afraid  ol 
everything  and  everybody. 


WHY  THE  PEETWEET  CRIES  FOR  RAIN. 

"  Come  to  me,  every  bird  that  flies,"  said 
the  Great  Father.  "  There  is  work  to  be 
done  that  only  my  birds  can  do." 

The  birds  were  happy  that  they  could  do 
something  to  please  the  Great  Father,  for 
they  remembered  how  good  he  had  always 
been  to  them.  They  flew  to  him  eagerly  to 
ask  what  they  should  do  for  him.  **  O  Great 
Father,"  they  sang  all  together,  "  tell  us 
what  we  can  do  for  you." 

"  The  waters  that  I  have  made  know  not 
where  to  go,"  said  the  Father.  **  Some 
should  go  to  the  seas,  some  should  go  to  the 
lakes  in  the  hollows  among  the  mouiitaius, 


WHY  THE  PEETWEET  CRIES   FOR  RAIN.      71 

and  some  should  make  rivers  that  will  dance 
over  the  rocks  and  through  the  fields  on 
their  way  to  the  sea." 

**  And  can  even  as  small  a  bird  as  I  show 
them  where  to  go  ? "  asked  the  sparrow 
eagerly. 

**  Yes,"  said  the  Father,  "  even  my  little 
humming-bird  can  help  me." 

Every  bird  that  flies  had  come  to  the 
Father,  but  the  peetweet  had  come  last 
because  he  was  lazy. 

"  I  do  not  really  wish  to  fly  all  over  the 
earth,"  said  he,  '*  to  show  the  waters  where 
to  go." 

"  Oh,  I  wish  I  were  a  bird,"  said  a  butter- 
fly. **  I  should  be  so  glad  to  do  something 
for  the  Father." 

But  the  peetweet  went  on,  **  I  should 
think  the  lakes  could  find  their  way  into 
the  hollows  of  the  mountains  by  them- 
selves." 

The  Father  heard  the  lazy  peetweet,  and 
he  said,  "  Do  you  not  wish  to  show  the 
waters  where  to  go  ?  " 


72     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

''They  never  showed  me  where  to  go," 
said  the  lazy  bkd.  ''  I  am  not  thirsty.  Let 
whoever  is  thirsty  and  needs  the  water  help 
the  lakes  and  rivers." 

The  other  birds  all  stood  still  in  wonder. 
''He  will  be  punished,"  they  whispered. 

*'Yes,  he  must  be  punished,"  said  the 
Father  sadly.  Then  said  he  to  the  lazy 
peetweet,  "  Never  again  shall  you  drink  of 
the  water  that  is  in  river  or  lake.  When 
you  are  thirsty,  you  must  look  for  a  hollow 
in  the  rock  where  the  rain  has  fallen,  and 
there  only  shall  you  drink." 

That  is  why  the  peetweet  flies  over  river 
and  lake,  but  ever  cries  eagerly,  "Peet- 
weet, peet-weet!  "  for  that  is  his  word  for 
"Rain,  rain! " 


WHY  THE  BEAR  HAS  A  SHORT  TAIL. 

One  cold  morning  when  the  fox  was  com- 
ing up  the  road  with  some  fish,  he  met  the 
bear. 

"  Good-morning,  Mr.  Fox,"  said  the  bear. 


WHY  THE  BEAR  HAS  A  SHORT  TAIL.        73 


Good-morning,  Mr.  Bear,"  said  the  fox. 
The  morning  is  brighter  because  I  have 
met  you." 

"  Those  are  yery  good  fish,  Mr.  Fox," 
said  the  bear.  *'  I  have  not  eaten  such 
fish  for  many  a  day.  Where  do  you  find 
them?" 

"  I  have  been  fishing,  Mr.  Bear,"  answered f 
the  fox. 

**  If  I  could  catch  such  fish  as  those,  I 
should  like  to  go  fishing,  but  I  do  not  know 
how  to  fish." 

"  It  would  be  very  easy  for  you  to  learn, 
Mr.  Bear,"  said  the  fox.  **  You  are  so  big 
and  strong  that  you  can  do  anything." 

*'  Will  you  teach  me,  Mr.  Fox  ?  "  asked 
the  bear. 

**  I  would  not  tell  everybody,  but  you  are 
such  a  good  friend  that  I  will  teach  you. 
Come  to  this  pond,  and  I  will  show  you 
how  to  fish  through  the  ice." 

So  the  fox  and  the  bear  went  to  the 
frozen  pond,  and  the  fox  showed  the  bear 
how  to  make  a  hole  in  the  ice. 


74     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

"  That  is  easy  for  you,"  said  the  fox,  "  but 
many  an  animal  could  not  have  made  that 
hole.  Now  comes  the  secret.  You  must 
put  your  tail  down  into  the  water  and 
keep  it  there.  That  is  not  easy,  and  not 
every  animal  could  do  it,  for  the  water  is 
very  cold;  but  you  are  a  learned  animal, 
Mr.  Bear,  and  you  know  that  the  secret  of 
catching  fish  is  to  keep  your  tail  in  the 
water  a  long  time.  Then  when  you  pull  it 
up,  you  will  pull  with  it  as  many  fish  as  I 
have." 

The  bear  put  his  tail  down  into  the  water, 
and  the  fox  went  away.  The  sun  rose  high 
in  the  heavens,  and  still  the  bear  sat  with 
his  tail  through  the  hole  in  the  ice.  Sunset 
came,  but  still  the  bear  sat  with  his  tail 
through  the  hole  in  the  ice,  for  he  thought, 
"  When  an  animal  is  really  learned,  he  will 
not  fear  a  little  cold." 

It  began  to  be  dark,  and  the  bear  said, 
**  Now  I  will  pull  the  fish  out  of  the  water. 
How  good  they  will  be  !  "  He  pulled  and 
pulled,  but   not   a  fish  came  out.     Worse 


WHY  THE  BEAR  HAS  A  SHORT  TAIL.        75 


than  that,  not  all  of  his  tail  came  out,  for 
ihe  end  of  it  was  frozen  fast  to  the  ice. 

He  went  slowly  down  the  road,  growling 
angrily,  "  I  wish  I  could  find  that  fox  ;  '* 
but  the  cunning  fox  was  curled  up  in  his 
warm  nest,  and  whenever  he  thought  of  the 
bear  he  laughed. 


76     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

WHY  THE  WREN  FLIES  CLOSE   TO  THE 
EARTH. 

One  day  when  the  birds  were  all  together, 
one  of  them  said,  **  I  have  been  watching 
men,  and  I  saw  that  they  had  a  king.  Let 
us  too  have  a  king." 

**  Why  ?  "  asked  the  others. 

"  Oh,  I  do  not  know,  but  men  have  one." 

"Which  bird  shall  it  he?  How  shall 
we  choose  a  king  ?  " 

**  Let  us  choose  the  bird  that  flies  far- 
thest," said  one. 

**  No,  the  bird  that  flies  most  swiftly." 

"  The  most  beautiful  bird." 

"  The  bird  that  sings  best." 

*'  The  strongest  bird." 

The  owl  sat  a  little  way  off  on  a  great 
oak-tree.  He  said  nothing,  but  he  looked 
so  wise  that  all  the  birds  cried,  **  Let  us  ask 
the  owl  to  choose  for  us." 

"  The  bird  that  flies  highest  should  be  our 
king,"  said  the  owl  with  a  wiser  look  than 
before,  and  the  others  said,  "  Yes,  we  will 
choose  the  bird  that  flies  highest." 


WHY  THE  WREN   FLIES   CLOSE   TO  EARTH.     77 

The  wren  is  very  small,  but  she  cried 
even  more  eagerly  than  the  others,  "  Let  us 
choose  the  bird  that  flies  highest,"  for  she 
said  to  herself,  **  They  think  the  owl  is  wise, 
but  1  am  wiser  than  he,  and  I  know  which 
bird  can  fly  highest." 

Then  the  birds  tried  their  wings.  They 
flew  high,  high  up  above  the  earth,  but  one 
by  one  they  had  to  come  back  to  their 
homes.  It  was  soon  seen  which  could  fly 
highest,  for  when  all  the  others  had  come 
back,  there  was  the  eagle  rising  higher  and 
higher. 

*'  The  eagle  is  our  king,"  cried  the  birds 
on  the  earth,  and  the  eagle  gave  a  loud  cry 
of  happiness.  But  look !  A  little  bird  had 
been  hidden  in  the  feathers  on  the  eagle's 
back,  and  when  the  eagle  had  gone  as  high 
as  he  could,  the  wren  flew  up  from  his  back 
still  higher. 

"Now  which  bird  is  king?"  cried  the 
wren.  "  The  one  that  flew  highest  should 
be  king,  and  I  flew  highest." 

The  eagle  was  angry,  but  not  a  word  did 


78     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

he  say,  and  the  two  birds  came  down  to  the 
earth  together. 

**  I  am  the  khig,"  said  the  wren,  "  for  I 
flew  higher  than  the  eagle."  The  other 
birds  did  not  know  which  of  the  two  to 
choose.  At  last  they  went  to  the  oak-tree 
and  asked  the  owl.  He  looked  to  the  east, 
the  west,  the  south,  and  the  north,  and  then 
he  said,  **  The  wren  did  not  fly  at  all,  for 
she  was  carried  on  the  eagle's  back.  The 
eagle  is  king,  for  he  not  only  flew  highest, 
but  carried  the  wren  on  his  back." 

"  Good,  good ! "  cried  the  other  birds. 
"  The  owl  is  the  wisest  bird  that  flies.  We 
will  do  as  he  says,  and  the  eagle  shall  be 
our  king."  The  wren  crept  away.  She 
thought  she  was  wise  before,  but  now  she 
is  really  wise,  for  she  always  flies  close  to 
the  earth,  and  never  tries  to  do  what  she 
cannot. 


WHY  THE  HOOFS   OF  THE  DEER  ARE  SPLIT.    79 

WHY   THE    HOOFS    OF    THE   DEER    ARE 

SPLIT. 

The  manito  of  the  Indians  taught  them 
how  to  do  many  things.  He  told  them  how 
to  build  wigwams,  and  how  to  hunt  and  to 
fish.  He  showed  them  how  to  make  jars  in 
which  to  keep  food  and  water.  When  little 
children  came  to  be  with  them,  it  was  the 
manito  who  said,  *'  See,  this  is  the  way  to 
make  soft,  warm  cradles  for  the  babies.'' 

The  good  spirit  often  comes  down  from 
his  happy  home  in  the  sky  to  watch  the 
Indians  at  their  work.  When  each  man 
does  as  well  as  he  can,  the  manito  is  pleased, 
but  if  an  Indian  is  lazy  or  wicked,  the  spirit 
is  angry,  and  the  Indian  is  always  punished 
in  one  way  or  another. 

One  day  when  the  manito  was  walking 
in  the  forest,  he  said  to  himself,  "  Every- 
thing is  good  and  happy.  The  green  leaves 
are  whispering  merrily  together,  the  waves 
are  lapping  on  the  shore  and  laughing,  the 
squirrels  are  chattering  and  laying  up  their 


80      THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

food  for  winter.  Everything  loves  me,  and 
the  colors  of  the  flowers  are  brighter  when 
I  lay  my  hand  upon  them." 

Then  the  manito  heard  a  strange  sound. 
"  I  have  not  often  heard  that,"  said  he.  **  I 
do  not  like  it.  Some  one  in  the  forest  has 
wicked  thoughts  in  his  heart." 

Beside  a  great  rock  he  saw  a  man  with  a 
knife. 

**  What  are  you  doing  with  the  knife  ?" 
asked  the  manito. 

"  I  am  throwing  it  away,"  answered  the 
man. 

**  Tell  me  the  truth,"  said  the  manito. 

'*  I  am  sharpening  it,"  replied  the  man. 

"  That  is  strange,"  said  the  manito. 
"  You  have  food  in  your  wigwam.  Why 
should  you  sharpen  a  knife  ?  " 

The  man  could  not  help  telling  the  truth 
to  the  manito,  and  so  he  answered,  but 
greatly  against  his  will,  "  I  am  sharpening 
the  knife  to  kill  the  wicked  animals." 

"  Which  animal  is  wicked  ?  "  asked  the 
manito.     "  Which  one  does  you  harm  ?  " 


THE  KNIFE  ONLY   WENT  IN   DEEPER 


82      THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

"  Not  one  does  me  harm,"  said  the  man, 
•*  but  I  do  not  like  them.  I  will  make  them 
afraid  of  me,  and  I  will  kill  them." 

"  You  are  a  cruel,  wicked  man,"  said  the 
manito.  **  The  animals  have  done  you  no 
harm,  and  you  do  not  need  them  for  food. 
You  shall  no  longer  be  a  man.  You  shall 
be  a  deer,  and  be  afraid  of  every  man  in  the 
forest." 

The  knife  fell  from  the  man's  hand  and 
struck  his  foot.  He  leaped  and  stamped, 
but  the  knife  only  went  in  deeper.  He 
cried  aloud,  but  his  voice  sounded  strange. 
His  hands  were  no  longer  hands,  but  feet. 
Antlers  grew  from  his  head,  and  his  whole 
body  was  not  that  of  a  man,  but  that  of  a 
deer.  He  runs  in  the  forest  as  he  will,  but 
whenever  he  sees  a  man,  he  is  afraid.  His 
hoofs  are  split  because  the  knife  that  he 
had  made  so  sharp  fell  upon  his  foot  when 
he  was  a  man ;  and  whenever  he  looks  at 
them,  he  has  to  remember  that  it  was  his 
own  wickedness  which  made  him  a  deer. 


THE  FIRST  GRASSHOPPER.  83 

THE  STORY  OP  THE  FIRST  GRASS- 
HOPPER. 

In  a  country  that  is  far  away  there  once 
lived  a  young  man  called  Tithonus.  He  was 
strong  and  beautiful.  Light  of  heart  and 
light  of  foot,  he  hunted  the  deer  or  danced 
and  sang  the  livelong  day.  Every  one  who 
saw  him  loved  him,  but  the  one  that  loved 
him  most  was  a  goddess  named  Aurora. 

Every  goddess  had  her  own  work,  but  the 
work  of  Aurora  was  most  beautiful  of  all, 
for  she  was  the  goddess  of  the  morning.  It 
was  she  who  went  out  to  meet  the  sun  and 
to  light  up  his  pathway.  She  watched  over 
the  flowers,  and  whenever  they  saw  her 
coming  J  their  colors  grew  brighter.  She 
loved  everything  beautiful,  and  that  is  why 
she  loved  Tithonus. 

"  Many  a  year  have  I  roamed  through 
this  country,''  she  said  to  herself,  **  but 
never  have  I  seen  such  bright  blue  eyes 
as  those.  O  fairest  of  youths,"  she  cried, 
"  who   are  you  ?      Some  name   should  be 


84     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

yours  that  sounds  like  the  wind  in  the  pine- 
trees,  or  like  the  song  of  a  bird  among  the 
first  blossoms." 

The  young  man  fell  upon  his  knees  before 
her.  "  I  know  well,"  said  he,  ''  that  you 
are  no  maiden  of  the  earth.  You  are  a  god- 
dess come  down  to  us  from  the  skies.  I  am 
but  a  hunter,  and  I  roam  through  the  forest 
looking  for  deer." 

"  Come  with  me,  fairest  of  hunters,"  said 
Aurora.  "  Come  with  me  to  the  home  of  my 
father.  You  shall  live  among  my  brothers 
and  hunt  with  them,  or  go  with  me  at  the 
first  brightness  of  the  morning  to  carry  light 
and  gladness  to  the  flowers." 

So  it  was  that  Tithonus  went  away  from 
his  own  country  and  his  own  home  to  live  in 
the  home  of  Aurora. 

For  a  long  time  they  were  happy  together, 
but  one  day  Aurora  said,  **  Tithonus,  I  am  a. 
goddess,  and  so  I  am  immortal,  but  some 
day  death  will  bear  you  away  from  me.  1 
will  ask  the  father  of  the  gods  that  you  too 
may  be  immortal." 


THE  FIRST  GRASSHOPPER.  85 

Then  Aurora  went  to  the  king  of  the  gods 
and  begged  that  he  would  make  Tithonus 
immortal. 

"  Sometimes  people  are  not  pleased  even 
when  I  have  given  them  what  they  ask," 
replied  the  king,  *'  so  think  well  before  you 
speak." 

"  I  have  only  one  wish,"  said  Aurora, 
"  and  it  is  that  Tithonus,  the  fairest  of 
youths,  shall  be  immortal." 

"  You  have  your  wish,"  said  the  king  of 
the  gods,  and  again  Tithonus  and  Aurora 
roamed  happily  together  through  forest  and 
field. 

One  day  Tithonus  asked,  "My  Aurora, 
why  is  it  that  I  cannot  look  straight  into 
your  eyes  as  once  I  did  ?  "  Another  day  he 
said,  **  My  Aurora,  why  is  it  that  I  cannot 
put  my  hand  in  yours  as  once  I  did  ?  ** 

Then  the  goddess  wept  sorrowfully.  **  The 
king  of  the  gods  gave  me  what  I  asked  for," 
she  wailed,  ''  and  I  begged  that  you  should 
be  immortal.  I  did  not  remember  to  ask 
that  you  should  be  always  young." 


86     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

Everyday  Tithonus  grew  older  and  smaller, 
"  I  am  no  longer  happy  in  your  father's 
home,"  he  said,  *'  with  your  brothers  who 
are  as  beautiful  and  as  strong  as  I  was  when 
I  first  saw  you.  Let  me  go  back  to  my  own 
country.  Let  me  be  a  bird  or  an  insect 
and  live  in  the  fields  where  we  first  roamed 
together.     Let  me  go,  dearest  goddess." 

**  You  shall  do  as  you  will,"  replied  Au- 
rora sadly.  **  You  shall  be  a  grasshopper, 
and  whenever  I  hear  the  grasshopper's 
clear,  merry  song,  I  shall  remember  the 
happy  days  when  we  were  together." 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  ORIOLE. 

The  king  of  the  north  once  said  to  him- 
self, **  I  am  master  of  the  country  of  ice  and 
snow,  but  what  is  that  if  I  cannot  be  ruler 
of  the  land  of  sunshine  and  flowers  ?  I  am 
no  king  if  I  fear  the  king  of  the  south. 
The  north  wind  shall  bear  my  icy  breath. 
Bird  and  beast  shall  quiver  and  tremble 
with  cold.     I  myself  will  call  in  the  voice 


THE  ORIOLEo  87 

of  the  thunder,  and  this  ruler  of  the  south, 
this  king  of  summer,  shall  yield  to  my 
power." 

The  land  of  the  south  was  ever  bright 
and  sunny,  but  all  at  once  the  sky  grew 
dark,  and  the  sun  hid  himself  in  fear. 
Black  storm-clouds  came  from  the  north. 
An  icy  wind  blew  over  the  mountains.  It 
wrestled  with  the  trees  of  the  southland, 
and  even  the  oaks  could  not  stand  against 
its  power.  Their  roots  were  tough  and 
strong,  but  they  had  to  yield,  and  the 
fallen  trees  lay  on  the  earth  and  wailed  in 
sorrow  as  the  cruel  storm-wind  and  rain  beat 
upon  them.  The  thunder  growled  in  the 
hollows  of  the  mountains,  and  in  the  fear- 
ful gloom  came  the  white  fire  of  the  forked 
lightning,  flaring  through  the  clouds. 

**  We  shall  perish,"  cried  the  animals  of 
the  sunny  south.  **  The  arrows  of  the  light- 
ning are  aimed  at  us.  O  dear  ruler  of  the 
southland,  must  we  yield  to  the  cruel  mas- 
ter of  the  north  ?  " 

*>'  My  king,"  said  a  little  buzzing  voice, 


88     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

**  may  I  go  out  and  fight  the  wicked  mastei 
of  the  storm -wind  ?  " 

The  thunder  was  still  for  a  moment,  and 
a  mocking  laugh  was  heard  from  among  the 
clouds,  for  it  was  a  little  hornet  that  had 
asked  to  go  out  and  meet  the  power  of  the 
ruler  of  the  north. 

"  Dear  king,  may  I  go  ?  "  repeated  the 
hornet. 

**  Yes,  you  may  go,"  said  the  king  of  the 
south,  and  the  little  insect  went  out  alone, 
and  brayely  stung  the  master  of  the  storm- 
wind. 

The  king  of  the  north  struck  at  him  with 
a  war-club,  but  the  hornet  only  flew  aboye 
his  head  and  stung  him  again.  The  hornet 
was  too  small  to  be  struck  by  the  arrows  of 
the  lightning.  He  stung  again  and  again, 
and  at  last  the  king  of  the  north  went  back 
to  his  own  country,  and  droye  before  him 
the  thunder  and  lightning  and  rain  and  the 
black  storm-clouds  and  the  icy  wind. 

"  Braye  little  hornet,"  said  the  king  of 
the  south,  "  tell  me  what  I  can  do  for  you. 
You  shall  haye  whateyer  you  ask." 


THE    PEACOCK'S  TAIL.  89 

Then  said  the  little  hornet,  "  My  king, 
on  all  the  earth  no  one  loves  me.  I  do  not 
wish  to  harm  people,  but  they  fear  my 
rting,  and  they  will  not  let  me  live  beside 
their  homes.    Will  you  make  men  love  me  ?  " 

**  Little  hornet,"  said  the  king  gently, 
**  you  shall  no  longer  be  a  stinging  insect 
feared  by  men.  You  shall  be  a  bright  and 
happy  oriole,  and  when  men  see  you,  they 
will  say,  *  See  the  beautiful  oriole,  I  shall 
be  glad  if  he  will  build  his  nest  on  our 
trees.'" 

So  the  hornet  is  now  an  oriole,  a  bird  that 
is  loved  by  every  one.  His  nest  looks  like 
that  of  a  hornet  because  he  learned  how  to 
build  his  home  before  he  became  an  oriole. 


WHY  THE  PEACOCK'S  TAIL  HAS  A 
HUNDRED  EYES. 

Juno,  queen  of  the  gods,  had  the  fairest 
cow  that  any  one  ever  saw.  She  was  creamy 
white,  and  her  eyes  were  of  as  soft  and  bright 
a  blue  as  those  of  any  maiden  in  the  world.. 


90     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

Juno  and  the  king  of  the  gods  often  played 
tricks  on  each  other,  and  Juno  knew  well 
that  the  king  would  try  to  get  her  cow. 
There  was  a  watchman  named  Argus,  and 
one  would  think  that  he  could  see  all  that 
was  going  on  in  the  world,  for  he  had  a 
hundred  eyes,  and  no  one  had  ever  seen 
them  all  asleep  at  once,  so  Queen  Juno 
gave  to  Argus  the  work  of  watching  the 
white  cow. 

The  king  of  the  gods  knew  what  she  had 
done,  and  he  laughed  to  himself  and  said, 
'*  I  will  play  a  trick  on  Juno,  and  I  will 
have  the  white  cow."  He  sent  for  Mercury 
and  whispered  in  his  ear,  **  Mercury,  go  to 
the  green  field  where  Argus  watches  the 
cream-white  cow  and  get  her  for  me." 

Mercury  was  always  happy  when  he  could 
play  a  trick  on  any  one,  and  he  set  out 
gladly  for  the  field  where  Argus  watched 
the  cream-white  cow  with  every  one  of  his 
hundred  eyes. 

Now  Mercury  could  tell  merry  stories  of 
all  that  was  done  in  the  world.     He  could 


THE  PEACOCK'S  TAIL.  W 

sing,  too,  and  the  music  of  his  voice  had 
lulled  many  a  god  to  sleep.  Argus  knew 
that,  but  he  had  been  alone  a  long  time, 
and  he  thought,  "  What  harm  is  there  in 
listening  to  his  merry  chatter  ?  I  have  a 
hundred  eyes,  and  even  if  half  of  them  were 
asleep,  the  others  could  easily  keep  watch 
of  one  cow."  So  he  gladly  hailed  Mercury 
and  said,  "  I  have  been  alone  in  this  field 
a  long,  long  time,  but  you  have  roamed 
about  as  you  would.  Will  you  not  sing  to 
me,  and  tell  me  what  has  happened  in  the 
world?  You  would  be  glad  to  hear  stories 
and  music  if  you  had  nothing  to  do  but  watch 
a  cow,  even  if  it  was  the  cow  of  a  queen." 

So  Mercury  sang  and  told  stories.  Some 
of  the  songs  were  merry,  and  some  were  sad. 
The  watchman  closed  one  eye,  then  another 
and  another,  but  there  were  two  eyes  that 
would  not  close  for  all  the  sad  songs  and  all 
the  merry  ones.  Then  Mercury  drew  forth 
a  hollow  reed  that  he  had  brought  from 
the  river  and  began  to  play  on  it.  It  was 
a  magic  reed,  and  as  he  played,  one  could 


92 


THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 


hear  the  water  rippling  gently  on  the  shore 
and  the  breath  of  the  wind  in  the  pine-trees  ; 
one  could  see  the  lilies  bending  their  heads 
as  the  dusk  came  on,  and  the  stars  twinkling 
softly  in  the  summer  sky. 

It  is  no  wonder  that  Argus  closed  one 
eye  and  then  the  other.  Every  one  of  his 
hundred  eyes  was  fast  asleep,  and  Mercury 


went  away  to  the  king  of  the  gods  with  the 
cream-white  cow.  ■ 

Juno  had  so  often  played  tricks  on  the 
king  that  he  was  happy  because  he  had 
played  this  one  on  her,  but  Juno  was  angry, 


THE  BEES  AND  THE  FLIES.  93 

and  she  said  to  Argus,  **  You  are  a  strange 
watchman.  You  have  a  hundred  eyes,  and 
you  could  not  keep  even  one  of  them  from 
falling  asleep.  My  peacock  is  wiser  than 
you,  for  he  knows  when  any  one  is  looking 
at  him.  I  will  put  every  one  of  your  eyes 
in  the  tail  of  the  peacock.'*  And  to-day, 
whoever  looks  at  the  peacock  can  count 
in  his  tail  the  hundred  eyes  that  once 
belonged  to  Argus. 


THE  STORY   OF  THE  BEES  AND   THE 
FLIES. 

There  were  once  two  tribes  of  little  peo- 
ple who  lived  near  together.  They  were 
not  at  all  alike,  for  one  of  the  tribes  looked 
for  food  and  carried  it  away  to  put  it  up 
safely  for  winter,  while  the  other  played 
and  sang  and  danced  all  day  long. 

**  Come  and  play  with  us,'*  said  the  lazy 
people,  but  the  busy  workers  answered, 
"  No,  come  and  work  with  us.  Winter  will 
soon  be  here.     Snow  and  ice  will  be  every- 


94     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

where,  and  if  we  do  not  put  up  food  now  we 
shall  have  none  for  the  cold,  stormy  days." 

So  the  busy  people  brought  honey  from 
the  flowers,  but  the  lazy  people  kept  on 
playing.  They  laughed  together  and  whis- 
pered to  one  another,  **  See  those  busy 
workers !  They  will  have  food  for  two 
tribes,  and  they  will  give  us  some.  Let  us 
go  and  dance." 

While  the  summer  lasted,  one  tribe 
worked  and  the  other  played.  When  win- 
ter came,  the  busy  workers  were  sorry  for 
their  friends  and  said,  **  Let  us  give  them 
some  of  our  honey."  So  the  people  who 
played  had  as  much  food  as  if  they,  too, 
had  brought  honey  from  the  flowers. 

Another  summer  was  coming,  and  the 
workers  said,  **  If  we  should  make  our  home 
near  the  lilies  that  give  us  honey,  it  would 
be  easier  to  get  our  food."  So  the  workers 
flew  away,  but  the  lazy  people  played  and 
danced  as  they  had  done  before  while  their 
jfriends  were  near,  for  they  thought,  **  Oh, 
they  will  come  back  and  bring  us  some 
honey." 


THE  BEES  AND  THE  FLIES. 


95 


By  and  by  the  cold  came,  but  the  lazy 
people  had  nothing  to  eat,  and  the  workers 
did  not  come  with  food. 
The  manito  had  said  to 
them,  **  Dear  little  work- 
ers, you  shall  no  longer 
walk  from  flower  to  flower. 
I  will  giye  you  wings,  and 
you  shall  be  bees.  When- 
ever men  hear  a  gentle 
humming,  they  will  say, 
*  Those  are  the  busy  bees, 
and  their  wings  were  given 
them  because  they  were 
wise  and  good/  " 

To  the  other  tribe  the 
manito  said,  **  You  shall  be  '^^^^ 
flies,  and  you,  too,  shall 
have  wings ;  but  while  the  workers  fly  from 
flower  to  flower  and  eat  the  yellow  honey, 
you  shall  have  for  your  food  only  what  has 
been  thrown  away.  When  men  hear  your 
buzzing,  they  will  say,  *  It  is  good  that  the 
flies  have  wings,  because  we  can  drive  them 
away  from  us  the  more  quickly/  *' 


96  THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  FIRST  MOLES. 

A  RICH  man  and  a  poor  man  once  owned 
a  field  together.  The  rich  man  owned  th( 
northern  half,  and  the  poor  man  ownea 
the  southern  half.  Each  man  sowed  his 
ground  with  seed.  The  warm  days  came, 
the  gentle  rain  fell,  and  the  seed  in  the 
poor  man's  half  of  the  field  sprang  up  and 
put  forth  leaves.  The  seed  in  the  rich  man's 
half  all  died  in  the  ground. 

The  rich  man  was  selfish  and  wicked. 
He  said,  "  The  southern  half  of  the  field 
is  mine,"  but  the  poor  man  replied,  **  No, 
the  southern  half  is  mine,  for  that  is  where 
I  sowed  my  seed." 

The  rich  man  had  a  son  who  was  as 
wicked  as  himself.  This  boy  whispered, 
**  Father,  tell  him  to  come  in  the  morning. 
I  know  how  we  can  keep  the  land."  So 
the  rich  man  said,  "  Come  in  the  mornings 
and  we  shall  soon  see  whose  Jand  this  is." 

At  night  the  rich  man  and  his  son  pulled 
up  some  bushes  that  grew  beside  the  field, 


THE  FIRST  MOLES.  97 

and  the  son  hid  in  the  hole  where  their 
roots  had  been. 

Morning  came,  and  many  people  went  to 
the  field  with  the  rich  man.  The  poor  man 
was  sorrowful,  for  he  feared  that  he  would 
lose  his  ground. 

"  Now  we  shall  see,"  said  the  rich  man 
boastfully,  and  he  called  aloud,  **  Whose 
ground  is  this  ?  " 

"  This  is  the  ground  of  the  rich  man," 
answered  a  voice  from  the  hole. 

"  How  shall  I  ever  get  food  for  my  chil- 
dren!" cried  the  poor  man. 

Then  another  voice  was  heard.  It  was 
that  of  the  spirit  of  the  fields,  and  it  said, 
"  The  southern  half  of  the  field  is  the  poor 
man's,  and  the  northern  half  shall  be  his 
too." 

The  rich  man  would  have  run  away,  but 
the  voice  called,  **  Wait.  Look  where  the 
bushes  once  stood.  The  boy  in  the  hole 
and  his  wicked  father  shall  hide  in  the  dark- 
ness as  long  as  they  live,  and  never  agairi 
shall  they  see  the  light  of  the  sun." 


98      THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

This  is  the  story  of  the  first  moles,  and 
this  is  why  the  mole  never  comes  to  the 
light  of  day. 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  FIRST  ANTS. 

**  This  jar  is  full  of  smoked  flesh,"  said 
one  Yoice. 

"  This  has  fish,  this  is  full  of  honey,  and 
that  one  is  almost  running  over  with  oil,*' 
said  another  voice.  "  We  shall  have  all  that 
we  need  to  eat  for  many  days  to  come." 

These  are  the  words  that  a  villager  com- 
ing home  from  his  work  heard  his  mother 
and  his  sister  say. 

*'  They  have  often  played  tricks  on  me," 
he  said  to  himself,  **  and  now  I  will  play 
one  on  them."  So  he  went  into  the  house 
and  said,  **  Mother,  I  have  found  that  I 
have  a  wonderful  sense  of  smell,  and  by  its 
help  I  can  find  whatever  is  hidden  away." 

"  That  is  a  marvelous  story,"  cried  the 
sister. 

"  If  you  can  tell  me  what  is  in  these  jars," 


THE  FIRST  ANTS.  99 

said  his  mother,  "  I  shall  think  you  are 
really  a  magician.     What  is  it  now  ?  " 

"  This  is  flesh,  this  fish,  this  honey,  and 
this  jar  is  full  of  oil,"  said  the  man. 

"  I  never  heard  of  such  a  marvel  in  all  my 
life,"  cried  the  mother  ;  and  in  the  morning 
she  called  her  friends  and  said,  **  Only  think 
what  a  wonderful  sense  of  smell  my  son  has ! 
He  told  me  what  was  in  these  jars  when 
they  were  closed." 

It  was  not  long  before  the  people  all 
through  the  country  heard  of  the  wonderful 
man,  and  one  day  word  came  that  the  king 
wished  to  see  him  at  once. 

The  man  was  afraid,  for  he  did  not  know 
what  would  happen  to  him,  and  he  was  still 
more  afraid  when  the  king  said,  *' A  pearl 
is  lost  that  I  had  in  my  hand  last  night. 
They  say  you  can  find  things  that  are  lost. 
Find  my  pearl,  or  your  head  will  be  lost." 

The  poor  man  went  out  into  the  forest. 
**  Oh,  how  I  wish  I  had  not  tried  to  play 
tricks,"  he  wailed.  **  Then  this  sharp  sor- 
row, this  dire  trouble,  would  not  have  come 
upon  me." 


100     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

"  Please,  please  do  not  tell  the  king,' 
said  two  voices  in  the  shadow  of  the  trees. 

'*  Who  are  you  ?  '*  asked  the  man. 

*'  Oh,  you  must  know  us  well,*'  said  a  man 
coming  out  into  the  light.  **  My  name  is 
Sharp,  and  that  man  behind  the  tree  is 
named  Dire,  but  please  do  not  tell  the 
king.  We  will  give  you  the  pearl;  here 
it  is.  You  called  our  names,  and  we  saw 
that  you  knew  us.  Oh,  I  wish  I  had  not 
been  a  thief!" 

The  man  gave  the  pearl  to  the  king,  and 
went  home  wishing  that  no  one  would  ever 
talk  to  him  again  of  his  sense  of  smell. 

In  three  days  word  came  from  the  queen 
that  he  must  come  to  her  at  once.  She 
thought  his  power  was  only  a  trick,  and  to 
catch  him  she  had  put  a  cat  into  a  bag  and 
the  bag  into  a  box. 

When  the  man  came,  she  asked  sharply 
"  What  is  in  this  box  ?  Tell  me  the  truth, 
or  off  will  go  your  head." 

"  What  shall  I  do  ?  "  thought  the  man. 
"Dire   death  is   upon   me."     He    did  not 


A    WONDERFUL  SENSE  OF  SMELL 


102     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

remember  that  he  was  before  the  queen,  and 
he  repeated  half  aloud  an  old  saying,  "  The 
bagged  cat  soon  dies." 

"  What  is  that  ?  '*  cried  the  queen. 

"  The  bagged  cat  soon  dies,"  repeated  the 
man  in  great  terror. 

"You  are  a  marvelous  man,"  said  the 
queen.  "  There  is  really  a  bag  in  the  box 
and  a  cat  in  the  bag,  but  no  one  besides 
myself  knew  it." 

"  He  is  not  a  man  ;  he  is  a  god,"  cried  the 
people,  **  and  he  must  be  in  the  sky  and 
live  among  the  gods ;  "  so  they  threw  him  up 
to  the  sky.  His  hand  was  full  of  earth,  and 
when  the  earth  fell  back,  it  was  no  longer 
earth,  but  a  handful  of  ants.  Ants  have  a 
wonderful  sense  of  smell,  and  it  is  because 
they  fell  from  the  hand  of  this  man  who 
was  thrown  up  into  the  sky  to  live  among 
the  gods. 


THE  FACE  OF  THE  MANITO.  108 

THE  FACE  OF  THE  MANITO. 

Many  years  ago  the  manito  of  the  Indians 
lived  in  the  sun.  Every  morning  the  wise 
men  of  the  tribe  went  to  the  top  of  a  moun- 
tain, and  as  the  sun  rose  in  the  east,  thej 
sang,  "  We  praise  thee,  0  sun  !  From  thee 
come  fire  and  light.  Be  good  to  us,  be  good 
to  us." 

After  the  warm  days  of  the  summer  had 
come,  the  sun  was  so  bright  that  the  In- 
dians said  to  their  wise  men,  "  When  you 
go  to  the  mountain  top,  ask  the  manito  to 
show  us  his  face  in  a  softer,  gentler  light."  . 

Then  the  wise  men  went  to  the  mountain 
top,  and  this  is  what  they  said :  "  O  great 
manito,  we  are  but  children  before  you,  and 
we  have  no  power  to  bear  the  brightness  of 
your  face.  Look  down  upon  us  here  on  the 
earth  with  a  gentler,  softer  light,  that  we 
may  ever  gaze  upon  you  and  show  you  all 
love  and  all  honor." 

The  bright  sun  moved  slowly  toward  the 
gouth.     The  people  were  afraid  that  the 


104     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHSc 

manito  was  angry  with  them,  but  when  the 
moon  rose  they  were  no  longer  sad,  for  from 
the  moon  the  loving  face  of  the  manito  was 
looking  down  upon  them. 

Night  after  night  the  people  gazed  at  the 
gentle  face,  but  at  last  a  night  came  when 
the  moon  was  not  seen  in  the  sky.  The 
wise  men  went  sorrowfully  to  the  moun- 
tain top.  *'  O  manito,'*  they  said,  "  we  are 
never  happy  when  we  cannot  gaze  into 
your  face.  Will  you  not  show  it  to  your 
children  ?  " 

The  moon  did  not  rise,  and  the  people 
were  sad,  but  when  morning  came,  there 
was  the  loving  face  of  the  manito  showing 
clearly  in  the  rocks  at  the  top  of  the  moun- 
tain. 

Again  they  were  happy,  but  when  dark 
clouds  hid  the  gentle  face,  the  wise  men 
went  to  the  foot  of  the  mountain  and 
called  sadly,  "  O  manito,  we  can  no  longer 
see  your  face." 

The  clouds  grew  darker  and  fell  like  a 
cloak  over  the  mountain,  the  trees  tremble(J 


THE  FACE  OF  THE  MANITO.  105 

in  the  wind,  the  forked  lightning  shot  across 
the  sky,  and  the  thunder  called  aloudr 

"  It  is  the  anger  of  the  manito,''  cried 
the  people.  **  The  heavens  are  falling,'*  they 
whispered,  and  they  hid  their  faces  in 
fear. 

Morning  came,  the  storm  had  gone,  and 
the  sky  was  clear.  Tremblingly  the  people 
looked  up  toward  the  mountain  top  for  the 
face  of  the  manito.  It  was  not  there,  but 
after  they  had  long  gazed  in  sorrow,  a  wise 
man  cried,  **  There  it  is,  where  no  cloud 
will  hide  it  from  us."  In  the  storm  the 
rocks  had  fallen  from  the  mountain  top. 
They  were  halfway  down  the  mountain  side, 
and  in  them  could  be  seen  the  face  of  the 
manito. 

Then  the  people  cried,  **  Praise  to  the 
good  manito  !  His  loving  face  will  look  down 
upon  us  from  the  mountain  side  forever- 
more." 

For  a  long  time  all  went  well,  but  at  last 
trouble  came,  for  they  heard  that  a  great 
tribe  were  on  the  war-path  coming  to  kill 


106     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

them.  "  Help  us,  dear  manito/'  they  cried, 
but  there  was  no  help.  The  warriors  came 
nearer  and  nearer.  Their  war-cry  was  heard. 
•*  O  manito/*  called  the  people,  '*  help  us, 
help  us ! "  A  yoice  from  the  mountain  an- 
swered, "  My  children,  be  not  afraid."  The 
war-cry  was  still,  and  when  the  people  looked 
for  the  warriors,  they  were  nowhere  to  be 
seen.  The  people  gazed  all  around,  and  at 
last  one  of  the  wise  men  cried,  **  There  they 
are,  there  they  are  !  *' 

They  were  at  the  foot  of  the  mountain, 
but  the  people  no  longer  feared  them,  for 
now  they  were  not  warriors  but  rocks. 
To  keep  from  harm  those  whom  he  loyed, 
the  manito  had  made  the  warriors  into 
etone.  They  stood  at  the  foot  of  the  moun- 
tain, and  to-day,  if  you  should  go  to  that 
far-away  country,  you  could  see  the  rocks 
that  were  once  warriors,  and  above  them, 
halfway  up  the  mountain  side,  you  could 
l^e  tjie  fope  of  tte  jnajiito^ 


THE  FIRST  DIAMONDS.  107 

THE  STORY  OF  THE  FIRST  DIAMONDS. 

The  chief  of  an  Indian  tribe  had  two  sons 
whom  he  loved  very  dearly.  This  chief  was 
at  war  with  another  tribe,  and  one  dark 
night  two  of  his  enemies  crept  softly 
through  the  trees  till  they  came  to  where 
the  two  boys  lay  sound  asleep.  The  war- 
riors caught  the  younger  boy  up  gently,  and 
carried  him  far  away  from  his  home  and  his 
friends. 

When  the  chief  woke,  he  cried,  **  Where 
is  my  son  ?  My  enemies  have  been  here  and 
have  stolen  him." 

All  the  Indians  in  the  tribe  started  out  in 
search  of  the  boy.  They  roamed  the  forest 
through  and  through,  but  the  stolen  child 
could  not  be  found. 

The  chief  mourned  for  his  son,  and  when 
the  time  of  his  death  drew  near,  he  said  to 
his  wife,  **  Moneta,  my  tribe  shall  have  no 
chief  until  my  boy  is  found  and  taken  from 
our  enemies.  Let  our  oldest  son  go  forth 
in  search  of  his  brother,  and  until  he  has 


108     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

brought  back  the  little  one,  do  you  rule  my 
people." 

Moneta  ruled  the  people  wisely  and 
kindly.  When  the  older  son  was  a  man, 
she  said  to  him,  ''  My  son,  go  forth  and 
search  for  your  brother,  whom  I  have 
mourned  these  many  years.  Every  day  I 
shall  watch  for  you,  and  every  night  I  shall 
build  a  fire  on  the  mountain  top.'* 

**  Do  not  mourn,  mother,"  said  the  young 
man.  "  You  will  not  build  the  fire  many 
nights  on  the  mountain  top,  for  I  shall 
soon  find  my  brother  and  bring  him  back 
to  you." 

He  went  forth  bravely,  but  he  did  not 
come  back.  His  mother  went  every  night 
to  the  mountain  top,  and  when  she  was  so 
old  that  she  could  no  longer  walk,  the 
young  men  of  the  tribe  bore  her  up  the 
mountain  side  in  their  strong  arms,  so  that 
with  her  own  trembling  hand  she  could  light 
the  fire. 

One  night  there  was  a  great  storm.  Even 
the  brave  warriors  were  afraid,  but  Moneta 


THE  FIRST  DIAMONDS. 


109 


had  no  fear,  for  out  of  the  storm  a  gentle 
voice  had  come  to  her  that  said,  *'  Moneta, 

your  sons  are 
coming  home  to 
you. 

**  Once  more 
I  must  build 
the  fire  on  the 
mountain  top," 
she  cried.  The 
young  men 


trembled  with  fear,  but  they  bore  her  to  the 
top  of  the  mountain. 

"  Leave  me  here  alone,"  she   said.     "  I 
hear  a  voice.     It  is  the  voice  of  my  son,  and 


110     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

he  is  calling,  *  Mother,  mother.'  Come  to 
me,  come,  my  boys." 

Coming  slowly  up  the  mountain  in  the 
storm  was  the  older  son.  The  younger  had 
died  on  the  road  home,  and  he  lay  dead  in 
the  arms  of  his  brother. 

In  the  morning  the  men  of  the  tribe  went 
to  the  mountain  top  in  search  of  Moneta  and 
her  sons.  They  were  nowhere  to  be  seen, 
but  where  the  tears  of  the  lonely  mother 
had  fallen,  there  was  a  brightness  that  had 
never  been  seen  before.  The  tears  were 
shining  in  the  sunlight  as  if  each  one  of 
them  was  itself  a  little  sun.  Indeed,  they 
were  no  longer  tears,  but  diamonds. 

The  dearest  thing  in  all  the  world  is  the 
tear  of  mother-love,  and  that  is  why  the 
tears  were  made  into  diamonds,  the  stones 
that  are  brightest  and  clearest  of  all  the 
stones  on  the  earth. 


THE  FIRST  PEARLS.  Ul 

THE  STORY   OF  THE  FIRST  PEARLS. 

There  was  once  a  man  named  Runoia, 
and  when  he  walked  along  the  pathways  of 
the  forest,  the  children  would  say  shyly  to 
one  another,  **  Look,  there  is  the  man  who 
always  hears  music." 

It  was  really  true  that  wherever  he  went 
he  could  hear  sweet  music.  There  are  some 
kinds  of  music  that  every  one  can  hear,  but 
Runoia  heard  sweet  sounds  where  others 
heard  nothing.  When  the  lilies  sang  their 
evening  song  to  the  stars,  he  could  hear  it, 
and  when  the  mother  tree  whispered  **  Good- 
night "  to  the  little  green  leaves,  he  heard 
the  music  of  her  whisper,  though  other  men 
heard  not  a  sound. 

He  was  sorry  for  those  other  men,  and  he 
said  to  himself,  "  I  will  make  a  harp,  and 
then  even  if  they  cannot  hear  all  the  kinds 
of  music,  they  will  hear  the  sweet  voice  of 
the  harp." 

This  must  have  been  a  magic  harp,  for  if 
any  one  else  touched  it,  no  sound  was  heard, 


112     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

but  when  Runoia  touched  the  strings,  the 
trees  bent  down  their  branches  to  listen,  the 
little  blossoms  put  their  heads  out  shyly, 
and  even  the  wind  was  hushed.  All  kind& 
of  beasts  and  birds  came  about  him  as  he 
played,  and  the  sun  and  the  moon  stood 
still  in  the  heavens  to  hear  the  wonderful 
music.  All  these  beautiful  things  happened 
whenever  Runoia  touched  the  strings. 

Sometimes  Runoia's  music  was  sad.  Then 
the  sun  and  the  moon  hid  their  faces  behind 
the  clouds,  the  wind  sang  mournfully,  and 
the  lilies  bent  low  their  snow-white  blossoms. 

One  day  Runoia  roamed  far  away  till  he 
came  to  the  shores  of  the  great  sea.  The 
sun  had  set,  darkness  hid  the  sky  and  the 
water,  not  a  star  was  to  be  seen.  Not  a 
sound  was  heard  but  the  wailing  of  the  sea. 
No  friend  was  near.  "  I  have  no  friends," 
he  said.  He  laid  his  hand  upon  his  harp, 
and  of  themselves  the  strings  gave  forth 
sweet  sounds,  at  first  softly  and  shyly.  Then 
the  sounds  grew  louder,  and  soon  the  world 
was  full  of  music,  such  as  even  Runoia  had 


THE  FIRST  PEARLS.  113 

never  heard  before,  for  it  was   the  music 
of  the  gods.     **  It  is  really  true,*'  he  said 


to  mi 


dmself  softly.  "  My  harp  is  giving  me 
music  to  drive  away  my  sadness.'' 

He  listened,  and  the  harp  played  more 
and  more  sweetly.  **  He  who  has  a  harp 
has  one  true  friend.  He  who  loves  music 
is  loved  by  the  gods,"  so  the  harp  sang  to 
him. 

Tears  came  into  Runoia's  eyes,  but  they 
were  tears  of  happiness,  not  of  sadness,  for 
he  was  no  longer  lonely.  A  gentle  voice 
called,  **  Runoia,  come  to  the  home  of  the 
gods." 


114  THE  BOOlt  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

As  darkness  fell  over  the  sea,  Runoia's 
friends  went  to  look  for  him.  He  was  gone, 
but  where  he  had  stood  listening  happily 
to  the  music  of  the  gods,  there  on  the  fair 
white  sand  was  the  harp,  and  all  around  it 
lay  beautiful  pearls,  shining  softly  in  the 
moonlight,  for  every  tear  of  happiness  was 
now  a  pearl. 


THE  STORY  OF    THE   FIRST    EMERALDS. 

In  the  days  of  long  ago  there  was  a  time 
when  there  were  no  emeralds  on  the  earth. 
Men  knew  where  to  find  other  precious 
stones.  They  could  get  pearls  and  dia- 
monds, but  no  one  had  ever  seen  an  emer- 
ald, because  the  emeralds  were  hidden  away 
in  the  bed  of  the  sea,  far  down  below  the 
waves. 

The  king  of  India  had  many  precious 
things,  and  he  was  always  eager  to  get 
others.  One  day  a  stranger  stood  before 
his  door,  and  when  the  king  came  out  he 
cried,  "  O  king,  you  have  much  that  is  pre* 


THE  FIRST  EMERALDS.  116 

cious.  Do  you  wish  to  have  the  most  beau- 
tiful thing  in  earth,  air,  or  water  ?  " 

"  Yes,  in  truth,*'  said  the  king.  **  What 
is  it  ? '' 

"  It  is  a  vase  made  of  an  emerald  stone,** 
answered  the  stranger. 

"  And  what  is  an  emerald  stone  ?  "  asked 
the  king. 

"  It  is  a  stone  that  no  one  on  earth  has. 
ever  seen,*'  said  the  stranger.  **  It  is  greener 
than  the  waves  of  the  sea  or  the  leaves  of 
the  forest.*' 

"  Where  is  the  wonderful  vase  ?  "  cried 
the  king  eagerly. 

"  Where  the  waves  of  the  sea  never  roll," 
was  the  answer,  but  when  the  king  was 
about  to  ask  where  that  was,  the  stranger 
had  gone. 

The  king  asked  his  three  wise  men  where 
it  was  that  the  waves  of  the  sea  never  rolled. 
One  said,  **  In  the  forest ; "  another  said, 
"  On  the  mountain  ;  "  and  the  last  said,  "  In 
the  sea  where  the  water  is  deepest." 

The  king  thought  a  long  time  about  these. 


116     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

answers  of  the  wise  meno  At  last  he  said  : 
"  If  the  emerald  vase  had  been  in  the  for- 
est or  on  the  mountain,  it  w^ould  have  been 
found  long  before  now.  I  think  it  is  in  the 
deepest  water  of  the  sea/' 

This  king  of  India  was  a  great  magician. 
He  went  to  the  sea,  and  there  he  sang  many 
a  magical  song,  for  he  said  to  himself,  *'  I 
have  no  diver  who  can  go  to  the  bed  of  the 
sea,  but  often  magic  will  do  what  a  diver 
cannot." 

The  king  of  the  world  under  the  water 
owned  the  beautiful  vase,  but  when  he 
heard  the  songs,  he  knew  that  he  must  give 
it  up.  **  Take  it,"  he  said  to  the  spirits 
that  live  in  the  deepest  water.  **  Bear  it  to 
the  king  of  India.  The  spirits  of  the  air 
will  try  to  take  it  from  you,  but  see  that 
it  goes  safely  to  the  king  whose  magic  has 
called  it  from  the  sea." 

The  spirits  of  the  sea  rose  from  the  waves 
bearing  the  precious  vase. 

**  It  is  ours,  it  is  ours,"  cried  the  spirits 
of  the  air.     "  The  king  of  India  shall  never 


THE   FIRST   EMERALDS.  11^ 

have  it."  The  spirits  of  the  air  and  the 
spirits  of  the  water  fought  together.  **  What 
a  fearful  storm  ! "  cried  the  people  on  the 
earth.  "  See  how  the  lightning  shoots 
icross  the  sky,  and  hear  the  thunder  roll 
irom  mountain  to  mountain!"  They  hid 
themselves  in  terror,  but  it  was  no  storm, 
it  was  only  the  spirits  fighting  for  the  emer- 
ald vase. 

One  of  the  spirits  of  the  air  bore  it  at  last 
far  up  above  the  top  of  the  highest  moun- 
tain. **  It  is  mine,"  he  cried.  **  Never," 
said  a  spirit  of  the  water,  and  he  caught  it 
and  threw  it  angrily  against  the  rocky  top 
of  the  mountain.  It  fell  in  hundreds  of 
pieces. 

There  was  no  vase  like  it  in  the  east  or 
the  west,  the  north  or  the  south,  and  so  the 
king  of  India  never  had  an  emerald  vase  ;  but 
from  the  pieces  of  the  vase  that  was  thrown 
against  the  mountain  came  all  the  emeralds 
that  are  now  on  the  earth. 


118     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

WHY    THE    EVERGREEN    TREES    NEVER 
LOSE  THEIR  LEAVES. 

Winter  was  coming,  and  the  birds  had 
flown  far  to  the  south,  where  the  air  wai 
warm  and  they  could  find  berries  to  eat. 
One  little  bird  had  broken  its  wing  and 
could  not  fly  with  the  others.  It  was  alone 
in  the  cold  world  of  frost  and  snow.  The 
forest  looked  warm,  and  it  made  its  way  to 
the  trees  as  well  as  it  could,  to  ask  for  help. 

First  it  came  to  a  birch-tree.  *'  Beauti- 
ful birch-tree,"  it  said,  "  my  wing  is  broken, 
and  my  friends  have  flown  away.  May  I 
live  among  your  branches  till  they  come 
back  to  me  ?  '* 

**  No,  indeed,"  answered  the  birch-tree, 
drawing  her  fair  green  leaves  away.  **  We 
of  the  great  forest  have  our  own  birds  to 
help.     I  can  do  nothing  for  you." 

**  The  birch  is  not  very  strong,"  said  the 
little  bird  to  itself,  **  and  it  might  be  that 
she  could  not  hold  me  easily.  I  will  ask  the 
oak."     So  the  bird  said,  **  Great  oak-tree, 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREES.  119 

you  are  so  strong,  will  you  not  let  me  live 
on  your  boughs  till  my  friends  come  back 
in  the  springtime  ?  " 

"  In  the  springtime  ! "  cried  the  oak. 
'*  That  is  a  long  way  oflE  How  do  I  know 
what  you  might  do  in  all  that  time  ?  Birds 
are  always  looking  for  something  to  eat,  and 
you  might  even  eat  up  some  of  my  acorns/" 

"  It  may  be  that  the  willow  will  be  kind, 
to  me,"  thought  the  bird,  and  it  said,  **  Gen- 
tle willow,  my  wing  is  broken,  and  I  could 
not  fly  to  the  south  with  the  other  birds.. 
May  I  live  on  your  branches  till  the  spring- 
time ?  " 

The  willow  did  not  look  gentle  then,  for 
fehe  drew  herself  up  proudly  and  said,  **  In- 
deed, I  do  not  know  you,  and  we  willows 
never  talk  to  people  whom  we  do  not  know. 
Very  likely  there  are  trees  somewhere  that 
will  take  in  strange  birds.  Leave  me  at 
once." 

The  poor  little  bird  did  not  know  what 
to  do.  Its  wing  was  not  yet  strong,  but  it 
began  to  fly  away  as  well  as  it  could.     Ba* 


120  THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

fore  it  had  gone  far,  a  voice  was  heard. 
**  Little  bird,"  it  said,  **  where  are  you  go- 
ing  ?  " 

"  Indeed,  I  do  not  know,"  answered  the 
bird  sadly.     **  I  am  very  cold." 

**  Come  right  here,  then,"  said  the  friendly 
spruce-tree,  for  it  was  her  voice  that  had 
called.  **  You  shall  live  on  my  warmest 
branch  all  winter  if  you  choose." 

'*  Will  you  really  let  me  ? "  asked  the 
little  bird  eagerly. 

"  Indeed,  I  will,"  answered  the  kind- 
hearted  spruce-tree.  **  If  your  friends  have 
flown  away,  it  is  time  for  the  trees  to  help 
you.  Here  is  the  branch  where  my  leaves 
are  thickest  and  softest." 

"  My  branches  are  not  very  thick,"  said 
the  friendly  pine-tree,  **  but  I  am  big  and 
strong,  and  I  can  keep  the  north  wind  from 
you  and  the  spruce." 

"  I  can  help  too,"  said  a  little  juniper- 
tree.  "  I  can  give  you  berries  all  winter 
long,  and  every  bird  knows  that  juniper  ber- 
ries are  good." 


THE  EVERGREEN  TREES. 


121 


So  the  spruce 
gave  the  lonely- 
little  bird  a 
home,  the  pine 
kept  the  cold 
north  I  wind 
away  from  it, 
and  the  juniper  gave  it  berries  to  eat. 

The  other  trees  looked  on  and  talked  to- 
gether wisely. 

"  I  would  not  have  strange  birds  on  my 
boughs,"  said  the  birch. 

"  I  shall  not  give  my  acorns  away  for  any 
one,"  said  the  oak. 


122     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

"  I  never  have  anything  to  do  with 
strangers,"  said  the  willow,  and  the  three 
trees  drew  their  leaves  closely  ahout 
them. 

In  the  morning  all  those  shining  green 
leaves  lay  on  the  ground,  for  a  cold  north 
wind  had  come  in  the  night,  and  every  leaf 
that  it  touched  fell  from  the  tree. 

**  May  I  touch  every  leaf  in  the  forest  ?  " 
asked  the  wind  in  its  frolic. 

"  No,"  said  the  frost  king.  "  The  trees 
that  have  been  kind  to  the  little  bird 
with  the  broken  wing  may  keep  their 
leaves." 

This  is  why  the  leaves  of  the  spruce,  the 
pine,  and  the  juniper  are  always  green. 


WHY  THE  ASPEN  LEAVES  TREMBLE. 

"  It  is  very  strange,"  whispered  one  reed 
to  another,  **  that  the  queen  bee  never 
guides  her  swarm  to  the  aspen-tree." 

"  Indeed,  it  is  strange,"  said  the  other. 
"  The  oak  and  the  willow  often  have  swarms, 


WHY  THE  ASPEN  LEAVES  TREMBLE.      123 

but  I  never  saw  one  on  the  aspen.  What 
can  be  the  reason  ?  " 

"  The  queen  bee  cannot  bear  the  aspen," 
said  the  first.  "  Very  likely  she  has  some 
good  reason  for  despising  it.  I  do  not  think 
that  an  insect  as  wise  as  she  would  despise 
a  tree  without  any  reason.  Many  wicked 
things  happen  that  no  one  knows." 

The  reeds  did  not  think  that  any  one 
could  hear  what  they  said,  but  both  the  wil- 
low and  the  aspen  heard  every  word.  The 
aspen  was  so  angry  that  it  trembled  from 
root  to  tip.  **  1 11  soon  see  why  that  proud 
queen  bee  despises  me,"  it  said.  "She  shall 
guide  a  swarm  to  my  branches  or  "  — 

"  Oh,  I  would  not  care  for  what  those 
reeds  say,"  the  willow-tree  broke  in.  **  They 
are  the  greatest  chatterers  in  the  world. 
They  are  always  whispering  together,  and 
they  always  have  something  unkind  to 
say." 

The  aspen-tree  was  too  angry  to  be  still, 
and  it  called  out  to  the  reeds,  "  You  are 
only  lazy  whisperers.     I  do  not  care  what 


124     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

you  say.  I  despise  both  you  and  your  queen 
bee.  The  honey  that  those  bees  make  is 
not  good  to  eat.  I  would  not  haye  it  any- 
where near  me." 

'*  Hush,  hush,"  whispered  the  willow  tim- 
idly. "  The  reeds  will  repeat  every  word 
that  you  say." 

**  I  do  not  care  if  they  do,"  said  the  aspen. 
"  I  despise  both  them  and  the  bees." 

The  reeds  did  whisper  the  angry  words 
of  the  aspen  to  the  queen  bee,  and  she  said, 
•*  I  was  going  to  guide  my  swarm  to  the 
aspen,  but  now  I  will  drive  the  tree  out  of 
the  forest.     Come,  my  bees,  come." 

Then  the  bees  flew  by  hundreds  upon  the 
aspen.  They  stung  every  leaf  and  every 
twig  through  and  through.  The  tree  was 
driven  from  the  forest,  over  the  prairie,  over 
the  river,  over  the  fields  ;  and  still  the  angry 
bees  flew  after  it  and  stung  it  again  and 
again.  When  they  had  come  to  the  rocky 
places,  they  left  it  and  flew  back  to  the 
land  of  flowers.  The  aspen  never  came  back. 
Its  bright  green  leaves  had  grown  white 


THE  BLOSSOMS   OF  THE  HEATHER.       125 

through  fear,  and  from  that  day  to  this 
they  haye  trembled  as  they  did  when  the 
bees  were  stinging  them  and  driving  the  tree 
from  the  forest. 


HOW  THE  BLOSSOMS  CAME  TO  THE 
HEATHER. 

Only  a  little  while  after  the  earth  was 
made,  the  trees  and  plants  came  to  live  on 
it.  They  were  happy  and  contented.  The 
lily  was  glad  because  her  flowers  were  white. 
The  rose  was  glad  because  her  flowers  were 
red.  The  violet  was  happy  because,  however 
shyly  she  might  hide  herself  away,  some  one 
would  come  to  look  for  her  and  praise  her 
fragrance.  The  daisy  was  happiest  of  all  be- 
cause every  child  in  the  world  loved  her. 

The  trees  and  plants  chose  homes  for 
themselves.  The  oak  said,  "I  will  live  in 
the  broad  fields  and  by  the  roads,  and  trav- 
elers may  sit  in  my  shadow."  **  I  shall  be 
contented  on  the  waters  of  the  pond,"  said 
the  water-lily.     "  And  I  am  contented  in 


126     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

the  sunny  fields,"  said  the  daisy.  **  My  fra^ 
grance  shall  rise  from  beside  some  mossy 
stone,"  said  the  violet.  Each  plant  chose 
its  home  where  it  would  be  most  happy  and 
contented. 

There  was  one  little  plant,  however,  that 
had  not  said  a  word  and  had  not  chosen 
a  home.  This  plant  was  the  heather.  She 
had  not  the  sweet  fragrance  of  the  violet, 
and  the  children  did  not  love  her  as  they 
did  the  daisy.  The  reason  was  that  no 
blossoms  had  been  given  to  her,  and  she  was 
too  shy  to  ask  for  any. 

"  I  wish  there  was  some  one  who  would 
be  glad  to  see  me,"  she  said;  but  she  was  a 
brave  little  plant,  and  she  did  her  best  to  be 
contented  and  to  look  bright  and  green. 

One  day  she  heard  the  mountain  say, 
"  Dear  plants,  wdll  you  not  come  to  my 
rocks  and  cover  them  with  your  brightness 
and  beauty  ?  In  the  winter  they  are  cold, 
and  in  the  summer  they  are  stung  by  the 
sunshine.  Will  you  not  come  and  cover 
them.?" 


THE  BLOSSOMS  OF   THE  HEATHER.        127 

"  I  cannot  leave  the  pond,"  cried  the 
water-lily. 

**  I  cannot  leave  the  moss,"  said  the  vio- 
let. 

**  I  cannot  leave  the  green  fields,"  said 
the  daisy. 

The  little  heather  was  really  trembling 
with  eagerness.  "  If  the  great,  beautiful 
mountain  would  only  let  me  come  ! "  she 
thought,  and  at  last  she  whispered  very  softly 
and  shyly,  "  Please,  dear  mountain,  will 
you  let  me  come  ?  I  have  not  any  blossoms 
like  the  others,  but  I  will  try  to  keep  the 
wind  and  the  sun  away  from  you." 

"  Let  you  ?  "  cried  the  mountain.  **  I 
shall  be  contented  and  happy  if  a  dear  little 
plant  like  you  will  only  come  to  me." 

The  heather  soon  covered  the  rocky 
mountain  side  with  her  bright  green,  and 
the  mountain  called  proudly  to  the  other 
plants,  **  See  how  beautiful  my  little  heather 
is  !  "  The  others  replied,  "  Yes,  she  is  bright 
and  green,  but  she  has  no  blossoms." 

Then  a  sweet,  gentle  voice   was  heard 


12S    THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

saying,  "  Blossoms  you  shall  have,  little 
heather.  You  shall  have  many  and  many  a 
flower,  because  you  have  loved  the  lonely 
mountain,  and  have  done  all  that  you  could 
to  please  him  and  make  him  happy."  Even 
before  the  sweet  voice  was  still,  the  little 
heather  was  bright  with  many  blossoms,  and 
blossoms  she  has  had  from  that  day  to  this. 


HOW  FLAX  WAS  GIVEN  TO  MEN. 

*'  You  have  been  on  the  mountain  a  long 
time,*'  said  the  wife  of  the  hunter. 

"Yes,  wife,  and  I  have  seen  the  most 
marvelous  sight  in  all  the  world,*'  replied 
the  hunter. 

**  What  was  that  ?  " 

"  I  came  to  a  place  on  the  mountain 
where  I  had  been  many  and  many  a  time 
before,  but  a  great  hole  had  been  made  in 
the  rock,  and  through  the  hole  I  saw  —  oh. 
wife,  it  was  indeed  a  wonderful  sight ! " 

"  But  what  was  it,  my  hunter  ?  " 

"  There  was  a  great  hall,  all  shining  and 


HOW  FLAX  WAS  GHTEN  TO  MEN.  129 

sparkling  with  precious  stones.  There  were 
diamonds  and  pearls  and  emeralds,  more 
than  we  could  put  into  our  little  house,  and 
among  all  the  beautiful  colors  sat  a  woman 
w^ho  was  fairer  than  they.  Her  maidens 
were  around  her,  and  the  hall  was  as  bright 
with  their  beauty  as  it  was  with  the  stones. 
One  was  playing  on  a  harp,  one  was  singing, 
and  others  were  dancing  as  lightly  and  mer- 
rily as  a  sunbeam  on  a  blossom.  The  woman 
was  even  more  beautiful  than  the  maidens, 
and,  wife,  as  soon  as  I  saw  her  I  thought 
that  she  was  no  mortal  woman." 

"  Did  you  not  fall  on  your  knees  and  ask 
her  to  be  good  to  us  ?  " 

**  Yes,  wife,  and  straightway  she  said : 
'  Rise,  my  friend.  I  have  a  gift  for  you. 
Choose  what  you  will  to  carry  to  your  wife 
as  a  gift  from  Holda.'  " 

"  Did  you  choose  pearls  or  diamonds  ?  " 

"  I  looked  about  the  place,  and  it  was  all 
so  sparkling  that  I  closed  my  eyes.  *  Choose 
your  gift,'  she  said.  I  looked  into  her  face, 
and  then  I  knew  that  it  was  indeed  the  god- 


130     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

dess  Holda,  queen  of  the  sky.  When  I  looked 
at  her,  I  could  not  think  of  precious  stones, 
for  her  eyes  were  more  sparkling  than  dia- 
monds, and  I  said  :  '  O  goddess  Holda,  there 
is  no  gift  in  all  your  magic  hall  that  I  would 
so  gladly  bear  away  to  my  home  as  the  little 
blue  flower  in  your  lily-white  hand.'  " 

"  Well !  "  cried  the  wife,  **  and  when  you 
might  have  had  half  the  pearls  and  emeralds 
in  the  place,  you  chose  a  little  faded  blue 
flower !  I  did  think  you  were  a  wiser  man." 

**  The  goddess  said  I  had  chosen  well," 
said  the  hunter.  **  She  gave  me  the  flower 
and  the  seed  of  it,  and  she  said,  '  When  the 
springtime  comes,  plant  the  seed,  and  in  the 
summer  I  myself  will  come  and  teach  you 
what  to  do  with  the  plant.' " 

In  the  spring  the  little  seeds  were  put 
into  the  ground.  Soon  the  green  leaves 
came  up ;  then  many  little  blue  flowers,  as 
blue  as  the  sky,  lifted  up  their  heads  in  the 
warm  sunshine  of  summer.  No  one  on  the 
earth  knew  how  to  spin  or  to  weave,  but 
on  the  brightest,  sunniest  day  of  the  summer, 


"SHE  GAVE  ME  THE  FLOWER" 


132     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

the   goddess  Holda  came  down   from   the 
mountain  to  the  little  house. 

"  Can  you  spin  flax  ? ''  she  asked  of  the 
wife. 
•  **  Indeed,  no,"  said  the  wife. 

"  Can  you  weave  linen  ?  " 

•*  Indeed,  no." 

"  Then  I  will  teach  you  how  to  spin  and 
to  weaye,"  said  the  good  goddess.  "  The 
little  blue  flower  is  the  flax.  It  is  my  own 
flower,  and  I  love  the  sight  of  it." 

So  the  goddess  sat  in  the  home  of  the 
hunter  and  his  wife  and  taught  them  how 
to  spin  flax  and  weave  linen.  When  the 
wife  saw  the  piece  of  linen  on  the  grass, 
growing  whiter  and  whiter  the  longer  the 
sun  shone  upon  it,  she  said  to  her  husband, 
*'  Indeed,  my  hunter,  the  linen  is  fairer 
than  the  pearls,  and  I  should  rather  have 
the  beautiful  white  thing  that  is  on  the  grass 
in  the  sunshine  than  all  the  diamonds  in  the 
hall  of  the  goddess." 


WHY  THE  JUNIPER  HAS   BERRIES.         133 

WHY  THE  JUNIPER  HAS  BERRIES. 

Three  cranberries  once  liyed  together  in 
a  meadow.  They  were  sisters,  but  they  did 
not  look  alike,  for  one  was  white,  and  one 
was  red,  and  one  was  green.  Winter  came, 
and  the  wind  blew  cold.  '*  I  wish  we  liyed 
nearer  the  wigwam,"  said  the  white  cran- 
berry timidly.  "  I  am  afraid  that  Hoots, 
the  bear,  will  come.     What  should  we  do  ?  " 

"  The  women  in  the  wigwam  are  afraid 
as  well  as  we,"  the  red  cranberry  said.  "  I 
heard  them  say  they  wished  the  men  would 
come  back  from  the  hunt." 

"  We  might  hide  in  the  woods,"  the  green 
cranberry  whispered. 

"  But  the  bear  will  come  down  the  path 
through  the  woods,"  replied  the  white  cran- 
berry. 

"  I  think  our  own  meadow  is  the  best 
place,"  the  red  cranberry  said.  "  I  shall  not 
go  away  from  the  meadow.  I  shall  hide 
here  in  the  moss." 

"  I  am  so  white,"  the  white  cranberry 


134     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

wailed,  "  that  I  know  Hoots  would  see  me, 
I  shall  hide  in  the  hominy.  That  is  as 
white  as  I." 

"  I  cannot  hide  in  the  hominy,"  said  the 
green  cranberry,  "  but  I  have  a  good  friend 
in  the  woods.  I  am  going  to  ask  the  juniper- 
tree  to  hide  me.  Will  you  not  go  with 
me  ? "  But  the  red  cranberry  thought  it 
best  to  stay  in  the  moss,  and  the  white  cran- 
berry thought  it  best  to  hide  in  the  hominy, 
so  the  green  cranberry  had  to  go  alone  to 
the  friendly  juniper-tree. 

By  and  by  a  growling  was  heard,  and  soon 
Hoots  himself  came  in  sight.  He  walked 
over  and  over  the  red  cranberry  that  lay 
hidden  in  the  moss.  Then  he  went  to  the 
wigwam.  There  stood  the  hominy,  and  in 
it  was  the  white  cranberry,  trembling  so  she 
could  not  keep  still. 

"  Ugh,  ugh,  what  good  hominy  !  "  said 
Hoots,  and  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  h( 
had  eaten  it  up,  white  cranberry  and  all. 

Now  the  red  cranberry  was  dead,  and  the 
white  cranberry  was   dead,  but   the   littl^ 


WHY  THE  SEA  IS  SALT.  136 

green  cranberry  that  went  to  the  juniper- 
tree  had  hidden  away  in  the  thick  branches, 
and  Hoots  did  not  find  her.  She  was  so 
happy  with  the  kind-hearted  tree  that  she 
neyer  left  it,  and  that  is  the  reason  why  the 
juniper-tree  has  berries. 


WHY  THE  SEA  IS  SALT. 

Frothi,  king  of  the  Northland,  owned 
some  magic  millstones.  Other  millstones 
grind  corn,  but  these  would  grind  out  what- 
ever the  owner  wished,  if  he  knew  how 
to  move  them.  Frothi  tried  and  tried,  but 
they  would  not  stir. 

**  Oh,  if  I  could  only  move  the  millstones," 
he  cried,  **  I  would  grind  out  so  many  good 
things  for  my  people.  They  should  all  be 
happy  and  rich." 

One  day  King  Frothi  was  told  that  two 
strange  women  were  begging  at  the  gate  to 
see  him. 

"  Let  them  come  in,"  he  said,  and  the 
women  were  brought  before  him. 


136  THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

"  We  have  come  from  a  land  that  is  far 
away,"  they  said. 

"  What  can  I  do  for  you  ?  "  asked  the  king. 

*'  We  have  come  to  do  something  for  you," 
answered  the  women. 

**  There  is  only  one  thing  that  I  wish  for," 
said  the  king,  "  and  that  is  to  make  the  magic 
millstones  grind,  but  you  cannot  do  that." 

**  Why  not  ?  "  asked  the  women.  "  That 
is  just  what  we  have  come  to  do.  That  is 
why  we  stood  at  your  gate  and  begged  to 
speak  to  you." 

Then  the  king  was  a  happy  man  indeed. 
"Bring  in  the  millstones,"  he  called.  **  Quick, 
quick  !  Do  not  wait."  The  millstones  were 
brought  in,  and  the  women  asked,  "  What 
shall  we  grind  for  you  ?  " 

"  Grind  gold  and  happiness  and  rest  for 
my  people,"  cried  the  king  gladly. 

The  women  touched  the  magic  millstones, 
and  how  they  did  grind  !  **  Gold  and  hap- 
piness and  rest  for  the  people,"  said  the 
women  to  one  another.  "  Those  are  good 
wishes." 


WHY  THE  SEA  IS  SALT.  137 

The  gold  was  so  bright  and  yellow  that 
King  Frothi  could  not  bear  to  let  it  go 
out  of  his  sight.  "  Grind  more,"  he  said  to 
the  women.  '*  Grind  faster.  Why  did  you 
come  to  my  gate  if  you  did  not  wish  to 
grind  ?  " 

**  We  are  so  weary,"  said  the  women. 
**  Will  you  not  let  us  rest  ?  " 

**  You  may  rest  for  as  long  a  time  as  it 
needs  to  say  *  Frothi,'  "  cried  the  king,  **  and 
no  longer.  Now  you  have  rested.  Grind 
away.  No  one  should  be  weary  who  is 
grinding  out  yellow  gold." 

**  He  is  a  wicked  king,"  said  the  women. 
**  We  will  grind  for  him  no  more.  Mill, 
grind  out  hundreds  and  hundreds  of  strong 
warriors  to  fight  Frothi  and  punish  him  for 
his  cruel  words." 

The  millstones  ground  faster  and  faster. 
Hundreds  of  warriors  sprang  out,  and  they 
killed  Frothi  and  all  his  men. 

**  Now  I  shall  be  king,"  cried  the  strong- 
est of  the  warriors.  He  put  the  two  wo- 
men and  the  magic  millstones  on  a  ship  to 


138     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

go  to  a  far-away  land.  "  Grind,  grind,"  he 
called  to  the  women. 

**  But  we  are  so  weary.  Please  let  us 
rest,*'  they  begged. 

**  Rest  ?  No.  Grind  on,  grind  on.  Grind 
salt,  if  you  can  grind  nothing  else." 

Night  came  and  the  weary  women  were 
still  grinding.  "  Will  you  not  let  us  rest  ?** 
they  asked. 

"  No,"  cried  the  cruel  warrior.  "  Keep 
grinding,  even  if  the  ship  goes  to  the  bottom 
of  the  sea."  The  women  ground,  and  it 
was  not  long  before  the  ship  really  did  go  to 
the  bottom,  and  carried  the  cruel  warrior 
with  it.  There  at  the  bottom  of  the  sea  are 
the  two  millstones  still  grinding  salt,  for 
there  is  no  one  to  say  that  they  must  grind 
no  longer.     That  is  why  the  sea  is  salt. 


THE  STORY   OF  THE  FIRST  WHITEFISH. 

One  day  a  crane  was  sitting  on  a  rock  far 
out  in  the  water,  when  he  heard  a  yoice  say, 
"Grandfather    Crane,    Grandfather   Crane, 


THE  FIRST  WHITEFISH.  139 

please  come  and  carry  us  across  the  lake." 
It  was  the  voice  of  a  child,  and  when  the 
crane  had  come  to  the  shore,  he  saw  two 
little  boys  holding  each  other's  hands  and 
crying  bitterly. 

"Why  do  you  cry?"  asked  the  crane,  "and 
why  do  you  wish  to  go  across  the  lake,  away 
from  your  home  and  friends  ?  " 

"  We  have  no  friends,"  said  the  little  boys, 
crying  more  bitterly  than  ever.  "  We  have 
no  father  and  no  mother,  and  a  cruel  witch 
troubles  us.  She  tries  all  the  time  to  do  us 
harm,  and  we  are  going  to  run  away  where 
she  can  never  find  us." 

"  I  will  carry  you  over  the  lake,"  said  the 
crane.  "  Hold  on  well,  but  do  not  touch 
the  back  of  my  head,  for  if  you  do,  you  will 
fall  into  the  water  and  go  to  the  bottom  of 
the  lake.     Will  you  obey  me  ?  " 

**  Yes,  indeed,  we  will  obey,"  they  said. 
**  We  will  not  touch  your  head.  But  please 
come  quickly  and  go  as  fast  as  you  can.  We 
surely  heard  the  voice  of  the  witch  in  the 
woods." 


140 


THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 


It  really  was  the  witch,  and  she  was  say* 
ing  over  and  oyer  to  herself,  "  I  will  catch 
them,  and  I  will  punish  them  so  that  they 
will  never  run  away  from  me  again.  They 
will  obey  me  after  I  have  caught  them." 

The  crane  bore  the  two  little  boys  gently 
to  the  other  shore,  and  when  he  came  back, 
there  stood  the  witch. 

"  Dear,  gentle  crane,*'  she  said,  **  you  are 
so  good  to  every  one.     Will  you  carry  me 


over  the  lake  ?  My  two  dear  children  are 
lost  in  the  woods,  and  I  have  cried  bitterly 
for  them  all  day  long." 

The  spirit  of  the  lake  had  told  the  crane 


THE   FIRST  WHITEFISH.  141 

to  carry  across  the  lake  every  one  that 
asked  to  be  taken  oyer ;  so  he  said,  **  Yes,  I 
will  carry  you  across.  Hold  on  well,  but  do 
not  touch  the  back  of  my  head,  for  if  you 
do,  you  will  fall  into  the  water  and  go  to  the 
bottom  of  the  lake.     Will  you  obey  me  ?  " 

*'  Yes,  indeed,  I  will,'*  said  the  witch  ;  but 
she  thought,  "  He  would  not  be  so  timid 
about  letting  me  touch  the  back  of  his  head 
if  he  were  not  afraid  of  my  magic.  I  will 
put  my  hand  on  his  head,  and  then  he  will 
always  be  in  my  power."  So  when  they 
were  far  out  over  the  lake,  she  put  her  hand 
on  the  crane's  head,  and  before  she  could 
say  **  Oh !  "  she  was  at  the  bottom  of  the 
lake. 

**  You  shall  never  live  in  the  light  again," 
said  the  crane,  "  for  you  have  done  no  good 
on  earth.  You  shall  be  a  whitefish,  and  you 
shall  be  food  for  the  Indians  as  long  as  they 
eat  fish." 


142  THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

WAS  IT  THE  FIRST   TURTLE? 

Once  upon  a  time  there  was  a  great  fight 
between  two  tribes  of  Indians.  It  was  so 
fierce  that  the  river  ran  red  with  blood,  and 
the  war-cries  were  so  loud  and  angry  that 
the  animals  of  the  forest  ran  away  in  ter- 
ror. The  warriors  fought  all  day  long,  and 
when  it  began  to  grow  dark,  all  the  men  on 
one  side  had  been  killed  but  two  warriors, 
one  of  whom  was  known  as  Turtle.  In  those 
days  there  were  no  such  animals  as  turtles 
in  the  ponds  and  rivers,  and  no  one  knew 
why  he  was  called  by  that  name.  At  last 
Turtle's  friend  was  struck  by  an  arrow  and 
fell  to  the  ground. 

**  Now  yield  !  "  cried  the  enemies. 

"  Friend,'*  said  Turtle,  "  are  you  dead  ?^ 

**  No,"  said  his  friend. 

«  Then  I  will  fight  on,"  said  Turtle,  and 
he  called  out,  "  Give  life  again  to  the  war- 
riors whom  you  have  killed  with  your  wicked 
arrows,  and  then  I  will  yield,  but  never 
before.     Come  on,  cowards  that  you  are ! 


WAS   IT  THE  FIRST  TURTLE?  143 

You  are  afraid  of  me.  You  do  not  dare  to 
come ! " 

Then  his  enemies  said,  **  We  will  all 
shoot  our  arrows  at  once,  and  some  one  of 
them  will  be  sure  to  kill  him."  They  made 
ready  to  fire,  but  Turtle,  too,  made  ready. 
He  had  two  thick  shields,  and  he  put  one 
over  his  back  and  one  over  his  breast.  Then 
he  called  to  his  fierce  enemies,  **  Are  you 
not  ready  ?  Come  on,  fierce  warriors  !  Shoot 
your  arrows  through  my  breast  if  you  can.'' 

The  warriors  all  shot,  but  not  an  arrow 
struck  Turtle,  for  the  two  shields  covered 
his  breast  and  his  back,  and  whenever  an 
arrow  buzzed  through  the  air,  he  drew  in 
his  head  and  his  arms  between  the  shields, 
and  so  he  was  not  harmed.  "  Why  do  you 
not  aim  at  me  ? "  he  cried.  "  Are  you 
shooting  at  the  mountain,  or  at  the  sun  and 
the  moon  ?  Good  fighters  you  are,  indeed  I 
Try  again." 

His  enemies  shot  once  more,  and  this 
time  an  arrow  killed  the  wounded  friend  as 
he  lay  on  the  ground.    When  Turtle  cried, 


144     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

**  Friend,  are  you  living  ?  "  there  was  nc 
answer. 

"  My  friend  is  dead,"  said  Turtle.  **  I 
will  fight  no  more." 

"  He  has  yielded,"  cried  his  enemies. 

"  He  has  not,"  said  Turtle,  and  with  one 
great  leap  he  sprang  into  the  river.  His 
enemies  did  not  dare  to  spring  after  him. 

"  Those  long  arms  of  his  would  pull  us  to 
the  bottom,"  they  said;  **but  we  will  watch 
till  he  comes  up,  and  then  we  shall  be  sure 
of  him." 

They  were  not  so  sure  as  they  thought,  for 
he  did  not  come  up,  and  all  that  they  could 
see  in  the  water  was  a  strange  creature 
unlike  anything  that  had  been  there  before. 

"  It  has  arms  and  a  head,"  said  one. 

"  And  it  pulls  them  out  of  sight  just  as 
Turtle  did,"  said  another. 

"  It  has  a  shield  over  its  back  and  one 
over  its  breast,  as  Turtle  had,"  said  the  first. 
Then  all  the  warriors  were  so  eager  to  watch 
the  strange  animal  that  they  no  longer  re- 
membered the  fight.  They  crowded  up  to 
the  shore  of  the  river. 


THE   CROCODILE'S  WIDE  MOUTH.  145 

"It  is  not  Turtle,'*  cried  one. 

"  It  is  Turtle,"  declared  another. 

"  It  is  so  like  him  that  I  do  not  care  to 
go  into  the  water  as  long  as  it  is  in  sight," 
said  still  another. 

"  But  if  this  is  not  Turtle,  where  is  he  ?  " 
they  all  asked,  and  not  one  of  the  wise  men 
of  their  tribe  could  answer. 


WHY  THE  CROCODILE  HAS  A  WIDE 
MOUTH. 

"  Come  to  my  kingdom  whenever  you 
will,"  said  the  goddess  of  the  water  to  the 
king  of  the  land.  "  My  waves  will  be  calm, 
and  my  animals  will  be  gentle.  They  will 
be  as  good  to  your  children  as  if  they  were 
my  own.  Nothing  in  all  my  kingdom  wiU 
do  you  harm." 

The  goddess  went  back  to  her  home  in 
the  sea,  and  the  king  walked  to  the  shore 
of  the  river  and  stood  gazing  upon  the  beau- 
tiful water.  Beside  him  walked  his  young* 
est  son. 


146     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

**  Father,"  asked  the  boy,  **  would  the 
goddess  be  angry  if  I  went  into  the  water 
to  swim  ?  " 

"  No,"  answered  the  father.  "  She  says 
that  nothing  in  all  her  wide  kingdom  will  do 
us  harm.  The  water-animals  will  be  kind, 
and  the  waves  will  be  calm." 

The  boy  went  into  the  water.  He  could 
swim  as  easily  as  a  fish,  and  he  went  from 
shore  to  shore,  sometimes  talking  with  the 
fishes,  sometimes  getting  a  bright  piece  of 
stone  to  carry  to  his  father.  Suddenly 
something  caught  him  by  the  foot  and 
dragged  him  down,  down,  through  the 
deep,  dark  water.  **  Oh,  father !  "  he  cried, 
but  his  father  had  gone  away  from  the 
shore,  and  the  strange  creature,  whatever 
it  was,  dragged  the  boy  down  to  the  very 
bottom  of  the  river. 

The  river  was  full  of  sorrow  for  what  the 
creature  had  done,  and  it  lifted  the  boy 
gently  and  bore  him  to  the  feet  of  the  god- 
dess. His  eyes  were  closed  and  his  face 
was  white,  for  he  was   dead.     Great  tears 


THE   CROCODILE  S   WIDE  MOUTH.  147 

came  from  the  eyes  of  the  goddess  when 
she  looked  at  him.  "  I  did  not  think  any 
of  my  animals  would  do  such  a  cruel  thing/' 
she  said.  "  His  father  shall  never  know  it, 
for  the  boy  shall  not  remember  what  has 
happened." 

Then  she  laid  her  warm  hand  upon  his 
head,  and  whispered  some  words  of  magic 
into  his  ear.  **  Open  your  eyes,"  she  called, 
and  soon  they  were  wide  open.  **  You  went 
in  to  swim,"  said  the  goddess.  *'  Did  the 
water  please  you  ?  " 

"Yes,  surely." 

n  ^ere  the  water-animals  kind  to  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,  surely,"  answered  the  boy,  for  the 
magic  words  had  kept  him  from  remem- 
bering anything  about  the  strange  creature 
that  had  dragged  him  to  the  bottom  of  the 
river. 

The  boy  went  home  to  his  father,  and  as 
soon  as  he  was  out  of  sight,  the  goddess 
called  to  the  water-animals,  "  Come  one, 
come  all,  come  little,  come  great." 

"It  is  the  voice  of  the   goddess,"  said 


148     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

the  water-animals,  and  they  all  began  to 
swim  toward  her  as  fast  as  they  could. 

When  they  were  together  before  her,  she 
said,  "One  of  you  has  been  cruel  and 
wicked.  One  of  you  has  dragged  to  the 
bottom  of  the  river  the  son  of  my  friend, 
the  king  of  the  land,  but  I  have  carried  him 
safely  to  shore,  and  now  he  is  in  his  home. 
When  he  comes  again,  will  you  watch  over 
him  wherever  in  the  wide,  wide  water  he 
may  wish  to  go  ?  " 

"Yes!'*  "Yes!"  "Yes!"  cried  the 
water-animals. 

"  Water,"  asked  the  goddess,  "  will  you 
be  calm  and  still  when  the  son  of  my  friend 
is  my  guest  ?" 

"  Gladly,"  answered  the  water. 

Suddenly  the  goddess  caught  sight  of 
the  crocodile  hiding  behind  the  other  ani- 
mals. "  Will  you  be  kind  to  the  boy  and 
keep  harm  away  from  him  ?  "  she  asked. 

Now  it  was  the  crocodile  that  had  dragged 
the  boy  to  the  bottom  of  the  river.  He 
wished  to  say,  "  Yes,"  but  he  did  not  dare 


•THE  MOUTH  THAT  WILL  NOT  OPEN  MUST  BE  MADE  TO  OPEN" 


150     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

to  open  his  mouth  for  fear  of  saying,  **  I  did 
it,  I  did  it,"  so  he  said  not  a  word.  The 
goddess  cried,  **  Did  you  drag  the  king's 
son  to  the  bottom  of  the  river  ?  "  Still  the 
crocodile  dared  not  open  his  mouth  for  fear 
of  saying,  ''I  did  it,  I  did  it/'  Then  the 
goddess  was  angry.  She  drew  her  long 
sword,  and  saying,  *'  The  mouth  that  will 
not  open  when  it  should  must  be  made  to 
open,"  she  struck  the  crocodile's  mouth  with 
the  sword.  **  Oh,  look  !  "  cried  the  other  ani- 
mals. The  crocodile's  mouth  had  opened ; 
there  was  no  question  about  thaty  for  it  had 
split  open  so  far  that  he  was  afraid  he  should 
never  be  able  to  keep  it  closed. 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  PICTURE  ON  THE 
VASE. 

On  some  of  the  beautiful  vases  that  are 
made  in  Japan  there  is  a  picture  of  a  goddess 
changing  a  dragon  into  an  island.  When 
the  children  of  Japan  say,  **  Mother,  tell  us 
a  story  about  the  picture,"  this  is  what  the 
mother  says :  — 


THE  PICTURE  ON  THE   VASE.  151 


i( 


Long,  long  ago  there  was  a  goddess  of 
the  sea  who  loved  the  people  of  Japan. 
She  often  came  out  of  the  water  at  sunset, 
and  while  all  the  bright  colors  were  in  the 
sky,  she  would  sit  on  a  high  rock  that  over- 
looked the  water  and  tell  stories  to  the 
children.  Such  wonderful  stories  as  they 
were  !  She  used  to  tell  them  all  about  the 
strange  fishes  that  swim  in  and  out  among 
the  rocks  and  the  mosses,  and  about  the 
fair  maidens  that  live  deep  down  in  the  sea 
far  under  the  waves.  The  children  would 
ask,  *  Are  there  no  children  in  the  sea  ? 
Why  do  they  never  come  out  to  play  with 
us  ? '  The  goddess  would  answer,  *  Some 
time  they  will  come,  if  you  only  keep  on 
wishing  for  them.  What  children  really 
wish  for  they  will  surely  have  some  day.' 

"  Then  the  goddess  would  sing  to  the  chil- 
dren, and  her  voice  was  so  sweet  that  the 
evening  star  would  stand  still  in  the  sky  to 
listen  to  her  song.  *  Please  show  us  how  the 
water  rises  and  falls,'  the  children  would  beg, 
and  she  would  hold  up  a  magic  stone  that 


152     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

she  had  and  say,  '  Water,  rise  !  '  Then  the 
waves  would  come  in  faster  and  faster  all 
about  the  rock.  When  she  laid  down  the 
stone  and  said,  *  Water,  fall ! '  the  waves 
would  be  still,  and  the  water  would  roll 
back  quickly  to  the  deep  sea.  She  was 
goddess  of  the  storm  as  well  as  of  the 
sea,  and  sometimes  the  children  would  say, 
*  Dear  goddess,  please  make  us  a  storm.' 
She  never  said  no  to  what  they  asked,  and 
so  the  rain  would  fall,  the  lightning  flare, 
and  the  thunder  roll.  The  rain  would  fall 
all  about  them,  but  the  goddess  did  not  let 
it  come  near  them.  They  were  never  afraid 
of  the  lightning,  for  it  was  far  above  their 
heads,  '  and  they  knew  that  the  goddess 
would  not  let  it  come  down. 

"  Those  were  happy  times,  but  there  is 
something  more  to  tell  that  is  not  pleasant. 
One  of  the  goddess's  sea-animals  was  a 
dragon,  that  often  used  to  play  in  the  water 
near  the  shore.  The  children  never  thought 
of  being  afraid  of  any  of  the  sea-animals, 
but  one  day  the  cruel  dragon  seized  a  little 


THE  PICTURE  ON  THE  VASE. 


153 


child  in  his  mouth,  and  in  a  moment  he  had 
eaten  it.  There  was  sadness  over  the  land 
of  Japan.     There  were  tears  and  sorrowful 


w/^iling.  *  0  goddess,'  the  people  cried, 
'  come  to  us !  Punish  the  wicked  dragon ! ' 
*'  The  goddess  was  angry  that  one  of  her 
creatures  should  have  dared  to  harm  the 
little  child,  and  she  called  aloud,  *  Dragon, 
come  to  me.'  The  dragon  came  in  a  mo- 
ment, for  he  did  not  dare  to  stay  away. 
Then  said  the  goddess,  *You  shall  never 
again  play  merrily  in  the  water  with  the 


154    THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

happy  sea-animals.  You  shall  be  a  rocky 
island.  There  shall  be  trees  and  plants  on 
you,  and  before  many  years  have  gone, 
people  will  no  longer  remember  that  you 
were  once  an  animal.' 

"  The  dragon  found  that  he  could  no  longer 
move  about  as  he  had  done,  for  he  was 
changing  into  rock.  Trees  and  plants  grew 
on  his  back.  He  was  an  island,  and  when 
people  looked  at  it,  they  said,  *  That  island 
was  once  a  wicked  dragon.'  The  children 
of  the  sea  and  the  children  of  the  land  often 
went  to  the  island,  and  there  they  had  very 
happy  times  together." 

This  is  the  story  that  the  mothers  tell  to 
their  children  when  they  look  at  the  vases 
and  see  the  picture  of  the  goddess  changing 
a  dragon  into  an  island.  But  when  the  chil- 
dren say,  "  Mother,  where  is  the  island  ? 
Cannot  we  go  to  it  and  play  with  the  sea- 
children  ?  "  the  mother  answers,  "  Oh,  this 
was  all  a  long,  long  time  ago,  and  no  onei 
can  tell  now  where  the  island  was." 


WHY  RIVERS  ARE  NEVER  STILL,  156 

WHY  THE  WATER  IN   RIVERS  IS 
NEVER  STILL. 

All  kinds  of  strange  things  came  to  pass 
in  the  days  of  long  ago,  but  perhaps  the 
strangest  of  all  was  that  the  nurses  who 
eared  for  little  children  were  not  women, 
but  brooks  and  rivers.  The  children  and 
the  brooks  ran  about  together,  and  the 
brooks  and  rivers  never  said,  **  It  is  time  to 
go  to  bed,"  for  they  liked  to  play  as  well 
as  the  children,  and  perhaps  a  little  better. 
Sometimes  the  brooks  ran  first  and  the 
children  followed.  Sometimes  the  children 
ran  first  and  the  brooks  followed.  Of  course, 
if  any  animal  came  near  that  would  hurt 
the  children,  the  brook  or  river  in  whose 
care  they  were  left  flowed  quickly  around 
them,  so  that  they  stood  on  an  island  and 
were  safe  from  all  harm. 

Two  little  boys  lived  in  those  days  who 
were  sons  of  the  king.  When  the  children 
were  old  enough  to  run  about,  the  king 
called  the  rivers  and  brooks  to  come  before 


156     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

him.  They  came  gladly,  for  they  felt  sure 
that  something  pleasant  would  happen,  and 
they  waited  so  quietly  that  no  one  would 
have  thought  they  were  so  full  of  frolic. 

**  I  have  called  you,''  said  the  king,  "  to 
give  you  the  care  of  my  two  little  sons. 
They  like  so  well  to  run  about  that  one 
nurse  will  not  be  enough  to  care  for  them, 
and  of  course  it  will  be  pleasanter  for  them 
to  have  many  playmates.  So  I  felt  that  it 
would  be  better  to  ask  every  river  and  every 
brook  to  see  that  they  are  not  hurt  or  lost." 

**  We  shall  have  the  king's  sons  for  our 
playmates  !  "  whispered  the  rivers.  *'  No- 
thing so  pleasant  ever  happened  to  us  be- 
fore." 

But  the  king  went  on,  **  If  you  keep  my 
boys  safely  and  well,  and  follow  them  so 
closely  that  they  are  not  lost,  then  I  will 
give  you  whatever  gift  you  wish ;  but  if  I  find 
that  you  have  forgotten  them  one  moment 
and  they  are  lost  or  hurt,  then  you  will 
be  punished  as  no  river  was  ever  punished 
before." 


WHY   RIVERS   ARE  NEVER  STILL.  157 

The  rivers  and  even  the  most  frolicsome 
little  brooks  were  again  quiet  for  a  moment. 
Then  they  all  cried  together,  **  O  king,  we 
will  be  good.  There  were  never  better 
nurses  than  we  will  be  to  your  sons." 

At  first  all  went  well,  and  the  playmates 
had  the  merriest  times  that  could  be 
thought  of.  Then  came  a  day  when  the 
sunshine  was  very  warm,  but  the  boys  ran 
faster  and  farther  than  boys  had  ever  run 
in  the  world  before,  and  even  the  brooks 
could  not  keep  up  with  them.  The  rivers 
had  never  been  weary  before,  but  when  this 
warm  day  came,  one  river  after  another  had 
some  reason  for  being  quiet.  One  com- 
plained, **  I  have  followed  the  boys  farther 
than  any  other  river."  "  Perhaps  you  have," 
said  another,  "  but  I  have  been  up  and  down 
and  round  and  round  till  I  have  forgotten 
how  it  seems  to  be  quiet."  Another  de- 
clared, **  I  have  run  about  long  enough,  and 
I  shall  run  no  more."  A  little  brook  said, 
"  If  I  were  a  great  river,  perhaps  I  could 
run  farther,"  and  a  great  river  replied,  "  If 


16S     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

I  were  a  little  brook,  of  course  I  could  run 
farther." 

So  they  talked,  and  the  day  passed. 
Night  came  before  they  knew  it,  and  they 
could  not  find  the  boys. 

"  Where  are  my  sons  ?  ''  cried  the  king. 

**  Indeed,  we  do  not  know,'*  answered  the 
brooks  and  rivers  in  great  fear,  and  each  one 
looked  at  the  others. 

**  You  have  lost  my  children,"  said  the 
king,  **  and  if  you  do  not  find  them,  you 
shall  be  punished.    Go  and  search  for  them." 

**  Please  help  us,"  the  rivers  begged  of 
the  trees  and  plants,  and  everything  that 
had  life  began  to  search  for  the  lost  boys. 
*'  Perhaps  they  are  under  ground,"  thought 
the  trees,  and  they  sent  their  roots  down  into 
the  earth.  **  Perhaps  they  are  in  the  east," 
cried  one  animal,  and  he  went  to  the  east. 
**  They  may  be  on  the  mountain,"  said  one 
plant,  and  so  it  climbed  to  the  very  top  of 
the  mountain.  "  They  may  be  in  the  vil- 
lage," said  another,  and  so  that  one  crept  up 
close  to  the  homes  of  men. 


WHY  RIVERS  ARE  NEVER  STILL.  169 

Many  years  passed.  The  king  was  almost 
broken-hearted,  but  he  knew  it  was  of  no 
use  to  search  longer,  so  he  called  very  sadly, 
*'  Search  no  longer.  Let  each  plant  and 
animal  make  its  home  where  it  is.  The 
little  plant  that  has  crept  up  the  mountain 
shall  live  on  the  mountain  top,  and  the  roots 
of  the  trees  shall  stay  under  ground.  The 
rivers "  —  Then  the  king  stopped,  and 
the  rivers  trembled.  They  knew  that  they 
would  be  punished,  but  what  would  the. 
punishment  be  ?  The  king  looked  at  them. 
"  As  for  you,  rivers  and  brooks,"  he  de- 
clared, *'  it  was  your  work  to  watch  my  boys. 
Thc-^lants  and  trees  shall  find  rest  and  live 
-happily  in  their  homes,  but  you  shall  ever 
search  for  my  lost  boys,  and  you  shall  never 
have  a  home." 

So  from  that  day  to  this  the  rivers  have 
gone  on  looking  for  the  lost  children.  They 
never  stop,  and  some  of  them  are  so  troubled 
that  they  flow  first  one  way  and  then  the 
other. 


160  THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

HOW  THE  RAVEN   HELPED  MEN. 

The  raven  and  the  eagle  were  cousins, 
and  they  were  almost  always  friendly,  but 
whenever  they  talked  together  about  men, 
they  quarreled. 

"  Men  are  lazy,''  declared  the  eagle. 
"  There  is  no  use  in  trying  to  help  them. 
The  more  one  does  for  them,  the  less  they 
do  for  themselves." 

"  You  fly  so  high,"  said  the  raven,  "  that 
you  cannot  see  how  hard  men  work.  I 
think  that  we  birds,  who  know  so  much 
more  than  they,  ought  to  help  them." 

"  They  do  not  work,"  cried  the  eagle. 
"  What  have  they  to  do,  I  should  like  to 
know  ?  They  walk  about  on  the  ground,  and 
their  food  grows  close  by  their  nests.  If 
they  had  to  fly  through  the  air  as  we  do,  and 
get  their  food  wherever  they  could,  they 
might  talk  about  working  hard." 

"  That  is  just  why  we  ought  to  help 
them,"  replied  the  raven.  **  They  cannot 
mount  up  into  the   air   as  we  do.     They 


HOW  THE  RAVEN  HELPED  MEN.  161 

cannot  see  anything  very  well  unless  it  is 
near  them,  and  if  they  had  to  run  and  catch 
their  food,  they  would  surely  die  of  hunger. 
They  are  poor,  weak  creatures,  and  there  is 
not  a  humming-bird  that  does  not  know 
many  things  that  they  never  heard  of." 

"  You  are  a  poor,  weak  bird,  if  you  think 
you  can  teach  men.  When  they  feel  hun- 
ger, they  will  eat,  and  they  do  not  know 
how  to  do  anything  else.  Just  look  at 
them !  They  ought  to  be  going  to  sleep,  and 
they  do  not  know  enough  to  do  even  that." 

**  How  can  they  know  that  it  is  night, 
when  they  have  no  sun  and  no  moon  to  tell 
them  when  it  is  day  and  when  it  is  night  ?  " 

**  They  would  not  go  to  sleep  even  if  they 
had  two  moons,"  said  the  eagle ;  **  and  you 
are  no  true  cousin  of  mine  if  you  do  not  let 
them  alone." 

So  the  two  birds  quarreled.  Almost  every 
time  they  met,  they  quarreled  about  men, 
and  at  last,  whenever  the  eagle  began  to 
mount  into  the  air,  the  raven  went  near  the 
earth. 


162     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

Now  the  eagle  had  a  pretty  daughter. 
She  and  the  raven  were  good  friends,  and 
they  never  quarreled  about  men.  One  day 
the  pretty  daughter  said,  **  Cousin  Raven, 
are  you  too  weak  to  fly  as  high  as  you  used 
to  do?" 

"  I  never  was  less  weak,"  declared  the 
raven. 

**  Almost  every  day  you  keep  on  the 
ground.     Can  you  not  mount  into  the  air  ?  " 

**  Of  course  I  can,"  answered  the  raven. 

"  There  are  some  strange  things  in  my 
father's  lodge,"  said  the  pretty  daughter, 
"  and  I  do  not  know  what  they  are.  They 
are  not  good  to  eat,  and  I  do  not  see  what 
else  they  are  good  for.  Will  you  come  and 
see  them  ?  " 

"  I  will  go  wherever  you  ask  me,"  declared 
the  raven. 

The  eagle's  lodge  was  far  up  on  the  top 
of  a  high  mountain,  but  the  two  birds  were 
soon  there,  and  the  pretty  daughter  showed 
the  raven  the  strange  things.  He  knew 
what  they  were,  and  he  said  to   himself. 


V 


> 


HOW  THE  RAVEN  HELPED  MEN.  163 


"  Men  shall  have  them,  and  by  and  by  they 
will  be  no  less  wise  than  the  birds."  Then 
he  asked,  '*  Has  your  father  a  magic  cloak.?  '* 

"  Yes,"  answered  the  pretty  daughter. 

"  May  I  put  it  on  ?  " 


164     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

"  Yes,  surely." 

When  the  raven  had  once  put  on  the 
magic  cloak,  he  seized  the  strange  things 
and  put  them  under  it.  Then  he  called, 
**  I  will  come  again  soon,  my  pretty  little 
cousin,  and  tell  you  all  about  the  people  on 
the  earth." 

The  things  under  his  cloak  were  strange 
indeed,  for  one  was  the  sun,  and  one  was 
the  moon.  There  were  hundreds  of  bright 
stars,  and  there  were  brooks  and  rivers  and 
waterfalls.  Best  of  all,  there  was  the  pre- 
cious gift  of  fire.  The  raven  put  the  sun 
high  up  in  the  heavens,  and  fastened  the 
moon  and  stars  in  their  places.  He  let  the 
brooks  run  down  the  sides  of  the  mountains, 
and  he  hid  the  fire  away  in  the  rocks. 

After  a  while  men  found  all  these  precious 
gifts.  They  knew  when  it  was  night  and 
when  it  was  day,  and  they  learned  how  to 
use  fire.  They  cannot  mount  into  the  air 
like  the  eagle,  but  in  some  things  they  are 
almost  as  wise  as  the  birds. 


THE  EARTH  AND  THE  SKY.  16B 


THE  STORY   OF  THE  EARTH  AND  THE 

SKY. 

The  sky  used  to  be  very  close  to  the  earth, 
and  of  course  the  earth  had  no  sunshine. 
Trees  did  not  grow,  flowers  did  not  blossom, 
and  water  was  not  clear  and  bright.  The 
earth  did  not  know  that  there  was  any  other 
way  of  living,  and  so  she  did  not  complain. 

By  and  by  the  sky  and  the  earth  had  a 
son  who  was  called  the  Shining  One.  When 
he  was  small,  he  had  a  dream,  and  he  told 
it  to  the  earth.  "  Mother  Earth,"  he  said, 
"I  had  a  dream,  and  it  was  that  the  sky 
was  far  up  above  us.  There  was  a  bright 
light,  and  it  made  you  more  radiant  than  I 
ever  saw  you.  What  could  the  light  have 
been.?" 

"  I  do  not  know,  my  Shining  One,*'  she 
answered,  "  for  there  is  nothing  but  the 
earth  and  the  sky." 

After  a  long,  long  time,  the  Shining  One 
was  fully  grown.  Then  he  said  to  the 
sky,  **  Father  Sky,  will  you  not  go  higher  up, 


166     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

that  there  may  be  light  and  warmth  on  the 
earth?" 

**  There  is  no  '  higher  up,'  "  declared  the 
sky.     "  There  is  only  just  here." 

Then  the  Shining  One  raised  the  sky  till 
he  rested  on  the  mountain  peaks. 

"  Oh  !  oh  !  "  cried  the  sky.  "  They  hurt. 
The  peaks  are  sharp  and  rough.  You  are 
an  unkind,  cruel  son." 

**In  my  dreams  you  were  still  higher  up," 
replied  the  Shining  One,  and  he  raised  the 
sky  still  higher. 

"  Oh  !  oh  !  "  complained  the  sky,  **  I  can 
hardly  see  the  peaks.  I  will  stay  on  the 
rough  rocks." 

**You  were  far  above  the  rocks  in  my 
dream,"  replied  the  Shining  One. 

Then  when  the  sky  was  raised  far  above 
the  earth  and  no  longer  touched  even  the 
peaks,  a  great  change  came  over  the  earth. 
She,  too,  had  thought  the  Shining  One  un- 
kind, and  she  had  said,  "  Shining  One,  it  was 
only  a  dream.  Why  should  you  change  the 
sky  and  the  earth  ?      Why  not  let  them 


THE  EARTH  AND  THE  SKY.  16T 

stay  as  they  were  before  you  Lad  the 
dream  ?  " 

**  O  Mother  Earth,"  he  said,  **  I  wish  you 
could  see  the  radiant  change  that  has  come 
to  pass.  The  air  is  full  of  light  and  warmth 
and  fragrance.  You  yourself  are  more  beau- 
tiful than  you  were  even  in  my  dream. 
Listen  and  hear  the  song  of  the  birds.  See 
the  flowers  blossoming  in  every  field,  and 
even  covering  the  rough  peaks  of  the  moun- 
tains. Should  you  be  glad  if  I  had  let  all 
things  stay  as  they  were  ?  Was  I  unkind 
to  make  you  so  much  more  lovely  than  you 
were  ?  " 

Before  the  earth  could  answer,  the  sky 
began  to  complain.  "  You  have  spread  over 
earth  a  new  cloak  of  green,  and  of  course 
she  is  beautiful  with  all  her  flowers  and 
birds,  but  here  am  I,  raised  far  above  the 
mountain  peaks.  I  have  no  cloak,  nor  have 
I  flowers  and  birds.  Shining  One,  give  me 
a  cloak." 

"  That  will  I  do,  and  most  gladly,"  re- 
plied the  Shining  One,  and  he  spread  a  soft 


168     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

cloak  of  dark  blue  over  the  sky,  and  in  it 
many  a  star  sparkled  and  twinkled. 

**  That  is  very  well  in  the  night,"  said  the 
heavens,  "  but  it  is  not  good  in  the  daytime, 
it  is  too  gloomy.  Give  me  another  cloak 
for  the  day."  Then  the  Shining  One  spread 
a  light  blue  cloak  over  the  sky  for  the  day- 
time, and  at  last  the  sky  was  as  beautiful 
as  the  earth. 

Now  both  sky  and  earth  were  contented. 
"  I  did  not  know  that  the  earth  was  so  radi- 
ant," said  the  sky.  **  I  did  not  know  that 
the  sky  was  so  beautiful,"  said  the  earth. 
**  I  will  send  a  message  to  tell  her  how  lovely 
she  is,"  thought  the  sky,  and  he  dropped 
down  a  gentle  little  rain. 

**  I,  too,  will  send  a  message,"  thought  the 
earth,  **  and  the  clouds  shall  carry  it  for 
me."  That  is  why  there  is  often  a  light 
cloud  rising  from  the  earth  in  the  morning. 
It  is  carrying  a  good-morning  message  from 
the  beautiful  earth  to  the  sky. 


HOW  SUMMER  CAME  TO  THE  EARTH.      169 
HOW  SUMMER  CAME  TO  THE  EARTH. 

PART    I. 

There  was  once  a  boy  on  the  earth  who 
was  old  enough  to  haye  a  bow  and  arrows, 
but  who  had  never  seen  a  summer.  He 
had  no  idea  how  it  would  look  to  have 
leaves  on  the  trees,  for  he  had  never  seen 
any  such  things.  As  for  the  songs  of  birds, 
he  may  have  heard  them  in  his  dreams,  but 
he  never  heard  them  when  he  was  not 
asleep.  If  any  one  had  asked,  **  Do  you  not 
like  to  walk  on  the  soft  grass  ?''  he  would 
have  answered,  "  What  is  grass  ?  I  never 
saw  any.*' 

The  reason  why  this  boy  had  never  heard 
of  summer  was  because  there  had  never 
been  a  summer  on  the  earth.  Far  to  the 
north  the  earth  was  covered  with  thick  ice, 
and  even  farther  south,  where  the  boy  lived, 
the  ground  was  rarely  free  from  ice  and 
snow. 

The  boy's  father  was  called  the  fisher.  He 
taught  his  little  son  to  hunt,  and  made  him 


170     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

a  bow  like  his  own,  only  smaller.  The  boy- 
was  proud  of  his  arrows,  and  was  always 
happy  when  he  went  out  to  hunt.  He  had 
often  shot  a  lynx,  and  once  or  twice  he  had 
shot  a  wolverine.  Sometimes  it  chanced 
that  he  found  nothing  to  shoot,  and  then 
he  was  not  happy,  for  he  realized  how  cold 
it  was.  His  fingers  ached,  and  his  feet 
ached,  and  the  end  of  his  nose  ached.  **  Oh, 
if  I  could  only  carry  the  wigwam  fire  about 
with  me  !  '*  he  cried,  for  he  had  no  idea  of 
any  other  warmth  than  that  which  came 
from  the  fire. 

Now  it  chanced  that  Adjidaumo,  the 
squirrel,  was  on  a  tree  over  the  boy's  head, 
and  he  heard  this  cry.  He  dropped  a  piece 
of  ice  upon  the  end  of  the  boy's  little  red 
fiose,  and  the  boy  bent  his  bow.  Then  he 
realized  who  it  was,  and  he  cried,  **  0  Adji- 
daumo, you  are  warm.  You  have  no  fingers 
to  ache  with  the  cold.  I  am  warm  just 
twice  a  day,  once  in  the  morning  and  once 
at  night." 

'^  3ojs  do  iiot  Imow  mu^h/'  replied  Adji- 


HOW  SUMMER  CAME  TO  THE   EARTH.      171 

daumo,  dancing  lightly  on  the  topmost 
bough.  "  The  end  of  my  nose  is  warm,  and 
I  have  no  fingers  like  yours  to  be  cold,  but 
if  I  had  chanced  to  have  any,  I  have  an 
idea  that  would  have  kept  them  warm." 

"  What  is  an  idea  ?  '*  asked  the  boy. 

"  An  idea  is  something  that  is  better  than 
a  fire,"  replied  the  squirrel,  **  for  you  can 
carry  an  idea  about  with  you,  and  you  have 
to  leave  the  fire  at  home.  A  lynx  has  an 
idea  sometimes,  and  a  wolverine  has  one 
sometimes,  but  a  squirrel  has  one  twice  as 
often  as  a  boy." 

The  poor  boy  was  too  cold  to  be  angry, 
and  he  begged,  **  Adjidaumo,  if  there  is  any 
way  for  me  to  keep  warm,  will  you  not  tell 
me  what  it  is  ?  A  lynx  would  be  more  kind 
to  me  than  you  are,  and  I  am  sure  a  wolver- 
ine would  tell  me." 

Adjidaumo  had  rarely  been  cold,  but  when 
he  realized  how  cold  the  boy  vras,  he  was 
sorry  for  him,  and  he  said,  "  All  you  have 
to  do  is  to  go  home  and  cry.  When  your 
father  says,  *  Why  do  you  cry } '    answer 


172     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

nothing  but  '  Boo-hoo,  boo-hoo,  boo-hoo ! 
Get  me  summer,  get  me  summer  ! ' " 

Now  this  boy  rarely  cried,  but  his  hands 
and  feet  were  so  very  cold  that  he  thought 
he  would  do  as  the  squirrel  had  told  him, 
and  he  started  for  home.  As  soon  as  he 
reached  the  wigwam,  he  threw  himself  down 
upon  the  ground  and  cried.  He  cried  so 
hard  that  his  tears  made  a  river  that  ran  out 
of  the  wigwam  door.  It  was  a  frozen  river, 
of  course,  but  when  the  fisher  saw  it,  he 
knew  it  was  made  of  the  tears  of  his  little 
son.  "  What  are  you  crying  for  ?  '*  he 
asked,  but  all  the  boy  answered  was  **  Boo- 
hoo,  boo-hoo  !  Get  me  summer,  father,  get 
me  summer !  '* 

"  Summer,"  repeated  the  fisher  thought- 
fully. **  It  is  not  easy  to  get  summer,  but 
I  will  find  it  if  I  can." 

PART    II. 

The  fisher  made  a  great  feast  for  the  ani- 
mals that  he  thought  could  help  him  to  find 
summer.     The  otter,  the  lynx,  the  badger. 


HOW   SUMMER  CAME  TO  THE  EARTH.      173 

and  the  wolverine  came.  After  they  had 
eaten,  the  hunter  told  them  what  he  wished 
to  do,  and  they  all  set  out  to  find  summer. 

For  many  days  they  traveled,  and  at  last 
they  came  to  a  high  mountain  upon  whose 
summit  the  sky  seemed  to  rest. 

**  That  is  where  summer  is,"  declared  the 
badger.  **  All  we  have  to  do  is  to  climb  to 
the  summit  and  take  it  from  the  heavens." 
So  they  all  climbed  and  climbed,  till  it 
seemed  as  if  they  would  never  reach  the 
top.  After  a  long  time  they  were  on  the 
very  highest  summit,  but  the  heavens  were 
above  them. 

"  We  cannot  reach  it,"  said  the  fisher. 

"  Let  us  try,"  said  the  lynx. 

"  I  will  try  first,"  said  the  otter.  So  the 
otter  sprang  up  with  all  his  might,  but  he 
could  not  touch  the  heavens.  He  rolled 
down  the  side  of  the  mountain,  and  then 
he  ran  home.  The  badger  tried,  and  the 
beaver  tried,  and  the  lynx  tried,  but  not 
one  of  them  could  leap  far  enough  to  reach 
the  heavens.     "  Now  I  will  try,"  said  the 


1T4  THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

wolverine.  **  I  am  not  going  to  climb  away 
up  here  for  nothing."  The  fisher  watched 
most  eagerly,  for  he  thought,  "  There  's  my 
boy  at  home  crying,  and  what  shall  I  do  if 
I  cannot  get  the  summer  for  him  ?  " 

The  wolverine  leaped  farther  than  any 
wolverine  ever  leaped  before,  and  he  went 
where  no  animal  on  the  earth  had  ever 
been  before,  for  he  went  straight  through 
the  floor  of  the  heavens.  Of  course  the 
fisher  followed,  and  there  they  were  in  a 
more  lovely  place  than  any  one  on  the 
earth  had  ever  dreamed  of,  for  they  were 
in  the  land  of  summer,  and  summer  had 
never  come  to  the  earth. 

The  soft,  warm  air  went  down  through 
the  hole  in  the  floor  and  spread  over  the 
earth.  Birds  flew  down,  singing  happily  as 
they  flew,  and  all  kinds  of  flowers  that  are 
on  the  earth  to-day  made  their  way  through 
the  hole  as  fast  as  they  could,  for  they  knew 
all  about  the  little  boy  in  the  wigwam  who* 
was  wishing  that  summer  would  come. 

Now  there  were  people  in  the  heavens^ 


THE  FIRST   SNOWDROPS.  175 

and  when  they  found  that  summer  was  go- 
ing down  to  the  earth  through  the  hole  in 
the  floor,  they  cried  out  to  the  Gf-oat  Spirit,  ^^ 
*'  Take  summer  away  from  him,  take  it 
away  from  him  ! ''  and  they  shot  their  arrows 
at  the  fisher  and  the  wolverine.  The  wolver- 
ine dropped  through  the  hole,  but  the  fisher 
was  not  quick  enough,  and  he  could  not  get 
away. 

The  Great  Spirit  said,  **  The  heavens  have 
the  summer  all  the  year,  but  the  earth  shall 
have  summer  half  the  year.  I  shall  close  the 
hole  in  the  floor  so  the  fisher  cannot  go  down 
to  earth  again,  but  I  will  make  him  into  a 
fish  and  give  him  a  place  in  the  heavens." 

When  the  Indians  look  up  at  the  sky, 
they  see  a  fish  in  the  stars,  and  they  say, 
**  That  is  the  good  fisher  who  gave  us  the 
beautiful  summer." 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  FIRST  SNOWDROPS. 

An  old  man  sat  alone  in  his  house.     It 
was  full  of  shadows ;  it  was  dark  and  gloomy. 


176     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

The  old  man  cared  nothing  for  the  shad- 
ows or  the  darkness,  for  he  was  thinking  of 
all  the  mighty  deeds  that  he  had  done. 
**  There  is  no  one  else  in  the  world,"  he 
muttered,  **  who  has  done  such  deeds  as  I," 
and  he  counted  them  over  aloud.  A  sound 
outside  of  the  house  interrupted  him. 
"  What  can  it  be  ? "  he  said  to  himself. 
"  How  dares  anything  interrupt  me  ?  I 
have  told  all  things  to  be  still.  It  sounds 
like  the  rippling  of  waters,  and  I  have  told 
the  waters  to  be  quiet  in  their  beds.  There 
it  is  again.  It  is  like  the  singing  of  birds, 
and  I  have  sent  the  birds  far  away  to  the 
south." 

Some  one  opened  the  door  and  came  in. 
It  was  a  youth  with  sunny  curls  and  rosy  face. 

"  Who  said  you  might  come  in  ?  "  mut- 
tered the  old  man. 

"  Did  not  you  ?  "  asked  the  youth,  with 
a  merry  little  laugh.  "  I  am  really  afraid 
that  I  came  without  asking.  You  see,  every 
one  is  glad  to  see  me  and  "  — 

"  I  am  not,"  interrupted  the  old  man. 


THE  FIRST   SNOWDROPS.  177 

"  I  have  heard  rumors  of  your  great 
deeds/'  said  the  youth,  "  and  I  came  to  see 
>^hether  the  tales  are  true." 

"  The  deeds  are  more  true  than  the 
tales,"  muttered  the  old  man,  **  for  the  tales 
are  never  great  enough.  No  one  can  count 
the  wonderful  things  I  have  done." 

**  And. what  are  they  ?  "  asked  the  young 
man  gravely,  but  with  a  merry  little  twinkle 
in  his  eyes  that  would  have  made  one  think 
of  the  waves  sparkling  in  the  sunlight. 
**  Let  us  see  whether  you  or  I  can  tell  the 
greatest  tale." 

**  I  can  breathe  upon  a  river  and  turn  it 
to  ice,"  said  the  old  man. 

*'  I  can  breathe  upon  the  ice  and  turn  it 
to  a  river,"  said  the  youth. 

"  I  can  say  to  water,  *  Stand  still,'  and  it 
will  not  darC'to  stir." 

**  I  can  say,  *  Stand  no  longer,'  and  it  will 
go  running  and  chattering  down  the  moun- 
tain side." 

"  I  shake  my  white  head,"  said  the  old 
man,  "  and  snow  covers  the  earth." 


178  THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

"  I  shake  my  curls,"  said  the  young  man, 
"  and  the  air  sparkles  with  sunshine.  In  a 
moment  the  snow  is  gone." 

**  I  say  to  the  birds,  *  Sing  no  more. 
Leave  me,'  and  they  spread  their  wings  and 
fly  far  away." 

**  I  say,  *  Little  birds,  come  back,*  and  in 
a  moment  they  are  back  again  and  singing 
their  sweetest  songs  to  me." 

"  No  one  can  count  the  leaves,"  said  the 
old  man,  "but  whether  I  shake  the  trees 
with  my  icy  touch,  or  whether  I  turn  my 
cold  breath  upon  them,  they  fall  to  the 
ground  with  fear  and  trembling.  Are  there 
any  rumors  of  my  deeds  as  great  as  that  ?  " 

The  young  man  answered  gravely,  but 
with  a  laugh  in  his  voice,  "  I  never  saw 
any  leaves  falling  to  the  ground,  for  when  I 
appear,  they  are  all  fair  and  green  and 
trembling  with  the  gladness  of  my  coming." 

So  the  two  talked  all  night  long.  As 
morning  came  near,  the  old  man  appeared 
weary,  but  the  youth  grew  merrier.  The 
sunlight  brightened,  and  the  youth  turned 


WHY  THE  FACE  OF  THE  MOON  IS  WHITE.    179 

to  the  open  door.  The  trees  were  full  of 
birds,  and  when  they  saw  him,  they  sang, 
"0  beautiful  spring!  glad  are  we  to  look 
again  upon  your  face/* 

"  My  own  dear  birds  !  "  cried  spring.  He 
turned  to  say  good-by,  but  the  old  man  was 
gone,  and  where  he  had  stood  were  only 
snowflakes.  But  were  they  snowflakes  ? 
He  looked  again.  They  were  little  white 
snowdrops,  the  first  flowers  of  spring,  the 
only  flowers  that  can  remember  the  winter. 


WHY  THE  FACE  OF  THE  MOON  IS 
WHITE. 

An  Indian  chief  had  a  fair  young  daugh- 
ter. One  day  the  wind  came  to  him  and 
said,  "Great  chief,  I  love  your  daughter, 
and  she  loves  me.  Will  you  give  her  to  me 
to  be  my  wife  ?  " 

"  No,'*  answered  the  chief. 

The  next  day  the  maiden  herself  went 
to  the  chief  and  said,  "  Father,  I  love  the 
wind.  Will  you  let  me  go  with  him  to  his 
lodge  and  be  his  wife  ?  " 


180     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

"  No/'  declared  the  chief,  "  I  will  not. 
When  the  wind  was  a  child,  he  often  came 
into  my  wigwam  through  some  tiny  hole, 
and  try  as  I  would  to  make  my  fire,  he 
always  put  it  out.  He  knows  neither  how 
to  fight  nor  how  to  hunt,  and  you  shall  not 
be  his  wife." 

Then  the  chief  hid  his  daughter  in  a 
thick  grove  of  dark  spruces.  **  The  wind 
might  see  her  in  a  pine,"  he  thought,  "  but 
he  will  never  catch  sight  of  her  in  a  grove 
of  spruces." 

Now  the  wind  could  make  himself  invisi- 
ble if  he  chose,  and  all  the  time  that  the 
chief  was  talking,  the  wind  was  close  beside 
him  listening  to  every  word.  When  the 
next  night  came,  the  wind  ran  round  and 
round  the  grove  of  spruces  until  he  discov- 
ered a  tiny  place  where  he  could  get  in. 
When  he  came  out,  the  maiden  was  with 
him.  He  did  not  dare  to  go  near  the 
Indians  to  live,  for  he  was  afraid  that  the 
chief  would  come  and  take  her  away  from 
him ;  so  he  built  a  new  lodge  far  to  the  north- 


WHY  THE  FACE  OF  THE  MOON  IS  WHITE.    181 

ward.  To  that  lodge  he  carried  the  maiden, 
and  she  became  his  wife. 

Neither  the  wind  nor  his  young  wife  had 
thought  that  the  chief  could  ever  find  them, 
but  he  searched  and  searched,  and  at  last 
he  came  to  their  lodge.  The  wind  hid  his 
wife  and  made  himself  invisible,  but  the 
father  struck  all  about  with  his  great  war- 
club,  and  a  hard  blow  fell  upon  the  head 
of  the  wind.  He  knew  no  more  of  what 
the  chief  was  doing. 

When  he  came  to  himself,  he  discovered 
that  his  wife  was  gone,  and  he  set  out  in 
search  of  her.  He  roamed  about  wildly  in 
the  forest,  and  at  last  he  saw  her  in  a  canoe 
with  her  father  on  the  Big-Sea-Water. 
**  Come  with  me,"  he  called.  She  became 
as  white  as  snow,  but  she  could  not  see 
the  wind,  because  after  the  blow  upon  his 
head  he  had  forgotten  how  to  make  himself 
visible. 

He  was  so  angry  with  the  chief  that  he 
blew  with  all  his  might  upon  the  tiny  canoe. 
"  Let   it  tip   over,"  he  thought.     "  I   can 


182     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

carry  my  wife  safely  to  land."  The  canoe 
did  tip  over,  and  both  the  chief  and  his 
daughter  fell  into  the  water.  **  Come,  dear 
wife,"  cried  the  wind.  *'  Here  is  my  hand." 
He  did  not  remember  that  he  was  invisible, 
and  that  she  could  not  see  his  hand.  That 
is  why  she  fell  down,  down,  through  the 
deep  water  to  the  bottom  of  the  lake.  The 
chief,  too,  lost  his  life,  for  the  wind  did  not 
try  to  help  him. 

When  the  wind  discovered  that  his  wife 
was  gone  from  him,  he  became  almost  wild 
with  sorrow.  **  The  wind  never  blew  so 
sadly  before,"  said  the  people  in  the  wig- 
wams. 

The  Great  Spirit  was  sorry  that  the 
chiefs  daughter  had  fallen  into  the  water 
and  lost  her  life,  and  the  next  night  he  bore 
her  up  to  the  stars  and  gave  her  a  home 
in  the  moon.  There  she  lives  again,  but 
her  face  is  white,  as  it  was  when  she  fell 
from  the  canoe.  On  moonlight  nights  she 
always  looks  down  upon  the  earth,  search- 
ing for  the  wind^  for  she  does  not  know  that 


H^RE  IS  A^Y  ^ANp" 


184     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

he  is  invisible.  The  wind  does  not  know 
that  far  away  in  the  moon  is  the  white  face 
of  his  lost  wife,  and  so  he  roams  through  the 
forest  and  wanders  about  the  rocks  and  the 
mountains,  but  never  thinks  of  looking  up  to 
the  moon. 


WHY  ALL  MEN  LOVE   THE  MOON. 

Thunder  and  Lightning  were  going  to 
give  a  feast.  It  was  to  be  a  most  delightful 
banquet,  for  all  the  good  things  that  could 
be  imagined  were  to  be  brought  from  every 
corner  of  the  world. 

For  many  days  before  the  feast  these  good 
things  were  coming.  The  birds  flew  up  with 
what  they  could  find  in  the  cold  air  of  the 
north  and  the  warm  air  of  the  south.  The 
fishes  came  from  the  east  and  from  the  west 
with  what  they  could  find  in  the  cold  water 
or  in  the  warm  w^ater.  As  for  what  grew 
on  the  earth,  there  was  no  end  to  the  lux- 
uries that  came  every  morning  and  every 
evening.      Squirrels    brought    nuts,    crows 


WHY  ALL  MEN  LOVE  THE  MOON.         185 

brought  corn,  the  ants  brought  sweet  things 
of  many  kinds.  Food  that  was  rich  and 
rare  came  from  India  and  Japan.  The 
butterflies  and  the  humming-birds  were  to 
arrange  the  flowers,  the  peacocks  and  the 
orioles  promised  to  help  make  the  place 
beautiful,  and  the  waves  and  the  brooks 
agreed  to  make  their  most  charming  music. 

Thunder  and  Lightning  were  talking 
about  whom  to  invite,  and  they  questioned 
whether  to  ask  the  sun,  the  moon,  and  the 
wind.  These  three  were  children  of  the 
star  mother. 

"  The  star  mother  has  been  so  kind  to  us 
that  I  suppose  we  ought  to  invite  her  chil- 
dren," said  Thunder. 

"  The  moon  is  charming,  but  the  sun  and 
the  wind  are  rough  and  wild.  If  I  were 
the  star  mother,  I  would  keep  them  in  a 
corner  all  day,  and  they  should  stay  there 
all  night,  too,  if  they  did  not  promise  to  be 
gentle,"  said  Lightning. 

"  We  must  invite  them,"  replied  Thunder, 
with  what  sounded  much  like  a  little  growl. 


186     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

"  but  it  would  be  delightful  if  they  would 
agree  to  stay  away,  all  but  the  moon." 

That  is  why  the  sun  and  wind  were  in- 
vited as  well  as  the  moon.  When  the  invi- 
tation came,  the  two  brothers  said  to  their 
little  sister,  "  You  are  too  small  to  go  to  a 
feast,  but  perhaps  they  asked  you  because 
they  were  going  to  ask  us." 

**  Star  mother,  I  think  I  will  stay  at 
home,"  said  the  moon  tearfully. 

"No,  little  moon,"  replied  the  star  mother; 
"  go  to  the  feast  with  the  other  children." 

So  the  three  children  went  to  the  feast, 
and  the  star  mother  waited  for  them  to 
come  home. 

When  they  came,  she  asked,  **  What  did 
you  bring  for  me  ?  "  The  hands  of  the  sun 
were  full  of  good  things,  but  he  said,  **  I 
brought  only  what  I  am  going  to  eat  myself," 
and  he  sat  down  in  a  corner  with  his  back 
to  the  others,  and  went  on  eating. 

•*  Did  you  bring  anything  for  me  ?  "  she 
asked  the  wind. 

"I  brought   some  good    things   halfway 


WHY  ALL  MEN  LOVE  THE  MOON.         187 

home,  and  then  I  was  weary  of  carrying 
them,"  answered  the  wind,  '*  so  I  have  eaten 
them." 

**  I  should  never  have  imagined  that  you 
would  be  so  selfish,"  said  the  star  mother 
sadly,  and  she  asked  the  little  moon,  **  My 
daughter,  did  you  bring  anything  for  me  ?  " 

"Yes,  star  mother,"  answered  the  little 
moon,  and  she  gave  her  mother  more  good 
things  than  any  one  had  ever  seen  in  their 
home  before.  There  were  rare  luxuries 
that  the  fishes  and  the  birds  had  brought. 
There  were  rich  colors  that  the  peacocks 
and  orioles  had  promised,  and  there  was 
even  some  of  the  charming  music  that  the 
waves  and  brooks  had  agreed  to  make. 

The  star  mother  praised  the  little  maiden. 
Then  she  looked  at  her  two  boys.  She 
was  sad,  for  she  knew  that  they  must  be 
punished  for  their  selfishness.  *'  Sun,"  said 
she,  "  you  wish  to  turn  your  back  on  all, 
and  your  punishment  shall  be  that  when 
the  warm  days  of  summer  have  come,  all 
men  will  turn  their  backs  on  you."     To  the 


188    THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

wind  she  said,  "  Wind,  you  thought  of  no 
one  but  yourself.  When  the  storm  is  com- 
ing and  you  are  afraid  and  fly  before  it,  no 
one  shall  think  of  you.  All  men  shall  close 
their  doors  against  you  and  fasten  them." 
Then  to  her  little  daughter  she  said,  "  My 
little  moon,  you  were  unselfish  and  thought- 
ful. You  shall  always  be  bright  and  beau- 
tiful, and  men  shall  loye  you  and  praise 
you  whenever  they  look  upon  your  gentle, 
kindly  face." 

This  is  why  men  hide  from  the  sun  and 
the  wind,  but  never  from  the  moon. 


WHY  THERE  IS  A  HARE  IN  THE  MOON. 
Many  strange  things  happened  long  ago, 
and  one  of  them  was  that  a  hare,  a  monkey, 
and  a  fox  agreed  to  live  together.  They 
talked  about  their  plan  a  long  time.  Then 
the  hare  said,  "  I  promise  to  help  the  mon- 
key and  the  fox."  The  monkey  declared, 
"  I  promise  to  help  the  fox  and  the  hare." 
The  fox  said,  "  I  promise  to  help  the  hare 


WHY  THERE  IS  A  HARE  IN  THE  MOON.    189 

and  the  monkey."  They  shook  hands,  or 
rather  shook  paws.  There  was  something 
else  to  which  they  agreed,  and  that  was 
that  they  would  kill  no  living  creature. 

The  manito  was  much  pleased  when  he 
heard  of  this  plan,  but  he  said  to  himself, 
**  I  should  like  to  make  sure  that  what  I 
have  heard  is  true,  and  that  they  are  really 
gentle  and  kind  to  others  as  well  as  to 
themselves.  I  will  go  to  the  forest  and  see 
how  they  behave  toward  strangers." 

The  manito  appeared  before  the  three 
animals,  but  they  thought  he  was  a  hunter. 
"  May  I  come  into  your  lodge  and  rest  ?  " 
he  asked.     **  I  am  very  weary." 

All  three  came  toward  him  and  gave  him  a 
welcome.  **  Come  into  our  lodge,"  they  said. 
*'  We  have  agreed  to  help  one  another,  so  we 
will  help  one  another  to  help  you." 

**  I  have  been  hungry  all  day,"  said  the 
manito,  **  but  I  should  rather  have  such  a 
welcome  than  food." 

**  But  if  you  are  hungry,  you  must  have 
food,"  declared  the  three  animals.   **  If  there 


190     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

were  anything  in  our  lodge  that  you  would 
care  to  eat,  you  might  have  part  of  it  or 
all  of  it,  but  there  is  nothing  here  that  you 
would  like." 

Then  said  the  monkey,  "  I  have  a  plan. 
I  will  go  out  into  the  forest  and  find  you 
some  food." 

When  the  monkey  came  back,  he  said, 
"  I  found  a  tree  with  some  fruit  on  it.  I 
climbed  it  and  shook  it,  and  here  is  the 
fruit.  There  was  only  a  little  of  it,  for 
fruit  was  scarce." 

"Will  you  not  eat  part  of  it  yourself?" 
asked  the  manito. 

**  No,"  answered  the  monkey.  "  I  had 
rather  see  you  eat  it,  for  I  think  you  are 
more  hungry  than  I." 

The  manito  wished  to  know  whether  the 
fox  and  the  hare  would  behave  as  unselfishly 
toward  him,  and  he  said,  "  My  good  friends, 
the  fruit  was  indeed  welcome,  but  I  am 
still  hungry." 

Then  the  fox  said,  **  I  will  go  out  into 
the  forest  and  see  what  I  can  find  for  jou." 


H 


WHY  THERE  IS  A  HARE  IN  THE  MOON.    191 

When  the  fox  came  back,  he  said,  "  I 
shook  the  trees,  but  no  more  fruit  fell.  I 
could  not  climb  the  trees,  for  my  paws  are 
not  made  for  climbing,  but  I  searched  on 
the  ground,  and  at  last  I  found  some  hominy 
that  a  traveler  had  left,  and  I  have  brought 
you  that." 

The  manito  had  soon  eaten  the  hominy. 
He  wished  to  know  whether  the  hare  would 
behave  as  kindly  as  the  others,  and  before 
long  he  said,  **  My  good  friends,  the  hom- 
iny was  indeed  welcome,  but  I  am  still 
hungry." 

Then  the  hare  said,  "  I  will  gladly  go 
out  into  the  forest  and  search  for  food." 
He  was  gone  a  long  time,  but  when  he  came 
back,  he  brought  no  food. 

"  I  am  very  hungry,"  said  the  manito. 

**  Stranger,"  said  the  hare,  *'  if  you  will 
build  a  fire  beside  the  rock,  I  can  give  you 
some  food." 

The  manito  built  a  fire,  and  the  hare 
said,  **  Now  I  will  spring  from  the  top  of 
the  rock  upon  the  fire.     I  have  heard  that 


192    THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

men  eat  flesh  that  is  taken  from  the  fire, 
and  I  will  give  you  my  own/* 

The  hare  sprang  from  the  rock,  but  the 
manito  caught  him  in  his  hands  before  the 
flame  could  touch  him,  and  said,  **  Dear,  un- 
selfish little  hare,  the  monkey  and  the  fox 
have  welcomed  me  and  searched  the  forest 
through  to  find  me  food,  but  you  have  done 
more,  for  you  have  given  me  yourself.  I 
will  take  the  gift,  little  hare,  and  I  will 
carry  you  in  my  arms  up  to  the  moon,  so 


that  every  one  on  the  earth  may  see  you 
and  hear  the  tale  of  your  kindness  and  un- 
selfishness." 

The  Indians  can  see  a  hare  in  the  moon. 


THE  CHILDREN  IN  THE  MOON.  193 

and  this  is  the  story  that  they  tell  their 
children  about  it. 


THE  CHILDREN  IN  THE  MOON. 

They  had  no  idea  where  they  came  from. 
All  they  knew  was  that  they  lived  on  the 
hill,  and  that  the  old  man  of  the  hill  called 
them  Jack  and  Jill.  They  had  plenty  of 
berries  to  eat,  and  when  night  came,  they 
had  soft  beds  of  fir  to  sleep  on.  There  were 
all  kinds  of  animals  on  the  hill,  and  they 
were  friendly  to  the  two  children.  They 
could  have  had  a  most  delightful  time  play- 
ing all  day  long  if  it  had  not  been  for  hav- 
ing to  carry  water. 

Every  morning,  just  as  soon  as  the  first 
rays  of  the  sun  could  be  seen  from  their 
home,  they  heard  the  voice  of  the  old  man 
of  the  hill  calling,  **  Jack !  Jill !  Take  your 
pail  and  get  some  water."  Whenever  they 
were  having  an  especially  pleasant  game 
with  some  of  the  animals,  they  heard  the 
same  call,  "  Take  your  pail  and  get  some 


lU  THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

water."  It  is  no  wonder  that  Jack  awoke 
one  night  when  no  one  called  and  said, 
"  Jill,  did  he  say  we  must  get  some  water  ?  " 
"  I  suppose  so,"  answered  Jill  sleepily^ 
and  they  went  out  with  the  pail. 

The  moon  was  shining  down  through 
the  trees,  and  they  imagined  that  she  was 
nearer  than  ever  before.  The  forest  was 
not  half  so  lonely  with  her  gentle  face  look- 
ing down  upon  them.  Soon  they  felt  hap- 
pier than  at  first,  and  they  played  little 
games  together,  running  from  tree  to  tree. 

**  We  have  spilled  half  the  water,"  said  Jill. 

**  There's  plenty  left,"  said  Jack,  **  if  half 
is  spilled." 

"  Do  you  suppose  there  are  any  children 
who  play  games  whenever  they  like  and  do 
not  have  to  carry  water  ?  " 

"  Plenty  of  them,"  declared  Jack. 

"Jack  and  Jill 
Went  up  the  hill 
To  get  a  pail  of  water," 

sang  a  voice  so  clear  that  it  seemed  close  at 
hand,  and  so  soft  that  it  seemed  far  away. 


THE  CHILDREN  IN  THE  MOON.  196 

Jack  started,  fell,  and  rolled  down  the 
hillside,  and  Jill  came  tumbling  after.  As 
for  the  water,  what  was  left  was  spilled  be- 
fore Jack  had  rolled  oyer  once ;  and  before 
he  had  rolled  over  twice,  the  same  voice 
sang,— 

"  Jack  fell  down 
And  broke  his  crown, 
And  Jill  came  tumbling  after." 

**  It  is  about  us,"  cried  Jill. 

**I  have  not  broken  any  crown,"  said 
Jack. 

"  It  is  the  crown  of  your  head,"  declared 
Jill. 

"Oh!"  said  Jack;  "but  where 's  the 
water  ?  " 

"  It  has  gone  tumbling  down  the  hill," 
answered  the  same  voice. 

**  How  can  water  go  tumbling  ? "  cried 
Jill.     "  JVe  tumbled." 

"  Water  tumbles  too,"  replied  the  voice, 
"  especially  when  it  is  frozen." 

"  Oh  !  "  said  Jack. 

"Oh!"saidJiU. 


196 


THE  BOOK  OP  NATURE  MYTHS. 


"  The  stream  is  frozen,"  called  the  voice. 
"  What  stream  ?  *'  asked  the  children  to- 
gether. 

**  The  stream  that 
goes  down  the  hill," 
answered  the  Toice. 
"  Did  you  not  know 
that  you  were  bring- 
V  w^     ^WIF    I     ^^S  water  to  keep  the 

^Cs^    ill/     ^^^^^^  ^""^^ '  " 

/  ^^"""V^ WA/  "  No,  indeed,"  said 

the  children. 

"The   old 
man   of  the 
hill    is   only 
a  rock,    and 
what        you 
thought    his 
voice       was 
only  the  water  flowing  around  it." 
"  Oh  !  "  cried  Jack. 
"Oh!"  cried  Jill. 

"  The  stream  is  frozen,"  said  the  voice, 
"  and  the  earth  has  a  cloak  of  snow  and  ice." 


WHY  THERE  IS  A  MAN  IN  THE  MOON.     197 

"  Who  are  you  ?  "  asked  Jill  shyly. 

**  Do  you  really  not  know  ?  What  a 
strange  child  you  are  !  I  am  the  moon,  of 
course.  Very  pleasant  people  live  with  me, 
and  I  have  come  to  invite  you  both  to  go 
home  with  me.     Will  you  come  ?  " 

The  children  looked  up  through  the 
trees,  and  there  was  the  gentle  face  of  the 
moon,  looking  more  gentle  and  kind  than 
ever.  **  Come,'*  said  she,  and  they  went 
very  willingly.  They  have  lived  in  the 
moon  many  years,  but  they  never  again 
carried  a  pail  of  water  for  a  stream.  **  That 
is  the  work  of  the  clouds  and  the  sun," 
says  the  moon. 


WHY  THERE  IS  A  MAN  IN  THE  MOON. 

"  Goodman,"  said  the  goodwife,  "  you 
must  go  out  into  the  forest  and  gather 
sticks  for  the  fire.  To-morrow  will  be  Sun- 
day, and  we  have  no  wood  to  burn." 

"Yes,  goodwife,"  answered  the  goodman, 
**  I  will  go  to  the  forest." 


198     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

He  did  go  to  the  forest,  but  he  sat  on  a 
mossy  rock  and  fished  till  it  was  dark,  and 
so  he  brought  home  no  wood.  **  The  good- 
wife  shall  not  know  it,'*  he  thought.  "  I  will 
go  to  the  forest  to-morrow  morning  and 
gather  sticks." 

When  morning  came,  he  crept  softly  out 
of  the  house  when  it  was  hardly  light,  and 
went  to  the  forest.  Soon  he  had  as  many 
sticks  as  he  could  carry,  and  he  was  start- 
ing for  home  when  a  voice  called  sternly, 
**  Put  those  sticks  down."  He  looked  to 
the  right,  to  the  left,  before  him,  behind 
him,  and  over  his  head.  There  was  no  one 
to  be  seen. 

"  Put  those  sticks  down,"  said  the  voice 
again. 

"  Please,  I  do  not  dare  to  put  tliem 
down,"  replied  the  goodman,  trembling 
with  fear.  "  They  are  to  burn,  and  my 
wife  cannot  cook  the  dinner  without  them." 

**  You  will  have  no  dinner  to-day,"  said 
the  voice. 

"  The  goodwife  will  not  know  that  I  did 


WHY  THERE  IS  A  MAN  IN  THE  MOON.    199 

act  gather  them  last  night,  and  she  will  let 
me  have  some  dinner.  I  am  almost  sure 
she  will,'*  the  goodman  replied. 

"  You  must  not  gather  sticks  to-day," 
said  the  voice  more  sternly  than  ever.  **  It 
is  Sunday.     Put  them  down." 

"  Indeed,  Mr.  Voice,  I  dare  not,"  whis- 
pered the  goodman  ;  and  afar  off  he  thought 
he  heard  his  wife  calling,  **  Goodman,  where 
are  you  ?     There  is  no  wood  to  burn," 

"  Will  you  put  them  down,  or  will  you 
carry  them  forever  ? "  cried  the  voice 
angrily. 

**  Truly,  I  cannot  put  them  down,  for  I 
dare  not  go  home  without  them,"  answered 
the  goodman,  shaking  with  fear  from  head 
to  foot.     **  The  goodwife  would  not  like  it." 

"  Then  carry  them  forever,"  said  the 
voice.  "  You  care  not  for  Sunday,  and  you 
shall  never  have  another  Sunday." 

The  goodman  could  not  tell  how  it  came 
about,  but  he  felt  himself  being  lifted,  up, 
up,  up,  sticks  and  all,  till  he  was  in  the 
moon. 


200     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

••Here  you  shall  stay,"  said  the  voice 
sternly.  "  You  will  not  keep  Sunday,  and 
here  you  need  not.  This  is  the  moon,  and 
so  it  is  always  the  moon's  day,  or  Monday, 
and  Monday  it  shall  be  with  you  always. 
Whenever  any  one  looks  up  at  the  moon, 
he  will  say,  *  See  the  man  with  the  sticks 
on  his  back.  He  was  taken  to  the  moon 
because  he  gathered  wood  on  Sunday.* " 

"  Oh  dear,  oh  dear,'*  cried  the  goodman, 
"  what  will  the  goodwife  say  ?  " 


THE  TWIN  STARS. 

In  front  of  the  little  house  was  a  pine-tree, 
and  every  night  at  the  time  when  the 
children  went  to  bed,  a  bright  star  appeared 
over  the  top  of  the  tree  and  looked  in  at 
the  window.  The  children  were  brother 
and  sister.  They  were  twins,  and  so  they 
always  had  each  other  to  play  with. 

"  Now  go  to  sleep,"  the  mother  would  say 
when  she  had  kissed  them  good-night,  but 
it  was  hard  to  go  to  sleep  when  such  a  beau- 


THE  TWIN  STARS.  201 

tiful,  radiant  thing  was  shining  in  at  the 
window  of  the  little  house. 

**  What  do  you  suppose  is  in  the  star  ?  " 
asked  the  sister. 

**  I  think  there  are  daisies  and  honey  and 
violets  and  butterflies  and  bluebirds/'  an- 
swered the  brother. 

**  And  I  think  there  are  roses  and  robins 
and  berries  and  humming-birds,"  said  the 
sister. 

**  There  must  be  trees  and  grass  too,  and  I 
am  sure  there  are  pearls  and  diamonds." 

'*  I  can  almost  see  them  now,"  declared 
the  sister.  **  I  wish  we  could  really  see 
them.  To-morrow  let  us  go  and  find  the 
star." 

When  morning  came,  the  star  was  gone, 
but  they  said,  **  It  was  just  behind  the  pine- 
tree,  and  so  it  must  be  on  the  blue  moun- 
tain." The  blue  mountain  was  a  long  way 
off,  but  it  looked  near,  and  the  twins  thought 
they  could  walk  to  it  in  an  hour.  All  day 
long  they  walked,  They  went  through  the 
lonely   woods,   they   crossed   brooks,   they 


202     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

climbed  hills,  and  still  they  could  not  find 
the  radiant  star  that  had  looked  in  at  their 
window.  The  hour  had  come  when  their 
mother  always  put  them  to  bed  and  kissed 
them  and  said  good-night,  but  now  they  had 
no  mother,  no  good-night  kiss,  and  no  bed. 
They  were  tired  and  sleepy.  They  heard 
strange  sounds  in  the  forest,  and  they  were 
frightened.  "I  am  so  tired,"  the  sister 
whispered.  **  I  am  afraid  a  bear  will  come. 
I  wish  we  could  see  the  star." 

The  sky  had  grown  dark,  and  a  star  could 
be  seen  here  and  there,  but  it  was  not  their 
star.  They  went  on  till  they  could  go  no 
farther.  **  We  will  lie  down  on  the  grass," 
said  the  brother,  **  and  cover  ourselves  up 
with  leaves,  and  go  to  sleep." 

Tired  as  they  were,  they  did  not  have 
time  to  go  to  sleep  before  they  heard  a  bear 
calling  *'  Ugh  !  Ugh  !  "  in  the  woods.  They 
sprang  up  and  ran  out  of  the  woods,  and 
just  before  they  came  to  the  bottom  of  the 
hill,  they  saw  right  in  front  of  them  a  beau- 
tiful little  lake.     They  were  not  frightened 


THE  TWIN  STARS.  203 

any  more,  for  there  in  the  water  was  some- 
thing radiant  and  shining.  **  It  is  our  own 
star,"  said  they,  "  and  it  has  come  down 
to  us/'  They  never  thought  of  looking 
up  into  the  sky  over  their  heads.  It  was 
enough  for  them  that  the  star  was  in  the 
water  and  so  near  them.  But  was  it  calling 
them  ?  They  thought  so.  "  Come,"  cried 
the  brother,  **  take  my  hand,  and  we  will 
go  to  the  star."  Then  the  spirit  of  the  skies 
lifted  them  up  gently  and  carried  them  away 
on  a  beautiful  cloud. 

The  father  and  mother  sat  alone  in  the 
little  house  one  evening,  looking  sadly  out 
of  the  window  through  which  the  twins 
had  looked.  "  There  is  the  star  that  they 
loved,"  the  mother  said.  '*  I  have  often 
listened  to  them  while  they  talked  of  it. 
It  is  rising  over  the  pine-tree  in  front  of 
the  house."  They  sat  and  watched  the 
star.  It  was  brighter  and  more  radiant 
than  ever,  and  in  it  the  father  and  mother 
saw  the  faces  of  their  lost  children.  "  Oh, 
take  us  too,  good  spirit  of  the  skies !  "  they 


204     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

cried.  The  spirit  heard  them,  and  when 
the  next  evening  came,  close  beside  the 
star  there  was  another  star.  In  that  were 
the  father  and  mother,  and  at  last  they  and 
the  children  were  all  very  happy  to  be  to- 
gether again. 


THE  LANTERN  AND  THE  FAN. 

In  a  Japanese  village  there  once  lived  a 
man  who  had  two  sons.  When  the  sons 
were  grown  up,  each  brought  home  a  wife 
from  another  village  a  long  distance  away. 
The  father  was  greatly  pleased  with  his  two 
daughters-in-law,  and  for  many  months  they 
all  lived  very  happily  together. 

At  last  the  two  young  wives  asked  to  go 
home  to  visit  their  friends.  Among  the 
Japanese  the  sons  and  the  sons'  wives  must 
always  obey  the  father,  so  the  two  wives 
said,  **  Father-in-law,  it  is  a  long,  long  time 
since  we  have  seen  our  friends.  May  we 
go  to  our  old  home  and  visit  them  ?  '*  The 
father-in-law  answered,  **  No."     After  many 


THE  LANTERN  AND  THE  FAN.  205 

months  they  asked  again,  and  again  he 
answered,  **  No.'*  Once  more  they  asked. 
The  father-in-law  thought,  *'  They  care  no- 
thing for  me,  or  they  would  not  wish  to 
leaye  me,  but  I  have  a  plan,  and  I  can  soon 
know  whether  they  love  their  father-in-law 
or  not."  Then  he  said  to  the  older  of  the 
two  wives,  **  You  may  go  if  you  wish,  but 
you  must  never  come  back  unless  you  bring 
me  fire  wrapped  in  paper.*'  To  the  younger 
he  said,  **  You  may  go  if  you  wish,  but  you 
must  never  come  back  unless  you  bring  me 
wind  wrapped  in  paper."  The  father-in-law 
thought,  **  Now  I  shall  find  out.  If  they 
care  for  me,  they  will  search  the  country 
through  till  they  find  paper  that  will  hold 
fire  and  wind." 

The  two  young  wives  were  so  glad  to  visit 
their  old  friends  that  for  almost  a  month 
they  forgot  all  about  the  gifts  that  they 
were  to  carry  to  their  father-in-law.  At  last, 
when  it  was  time  to  go  home,  they  were 
greatly  troubled  about  what  they  must  carry 
with  them,  and    they  asked   a  wise  man 


206     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

where  to  find  the  strange  things.  "  Paper 
that  will  hold  fire  and  wind !  *'  he  cried. 
**  There  is  no  such  paper  in  Japan."  The 
two  women  asked  one  wise  man  after  an- 
other, and  every  one  declared,  **  There  is  no 
such  paper  in  Japan."  What  should  they 
do?  They  feared  they  would  never  see 
their  home  again.  They  were  so  sad  that 
they  left  their  friends  and  wandered  a  long 
distance  into  the  forest.  Great  tears  fell 
from  their  eyes. 

"  I  do  not  let  people  cry  in  my  woods," 
said  a  voice.  "  My  trees  do  not  grow  well 
in  salt  water." 

The  poor  wives  were  so  sorrowful  that 
they  forgot  to  be  afraid,  and  the  older  one 
said,  "  Can  we  help  crying  ?  Unless  I  can 
carry  to  my  father-in-law  fire  wrapped  in 
paper,  I  can  never  go  home."  **  And  I," 
wailed  the  younger,  "  unless  I  can  carry 
wind  wrapped  in  paper,  I  can  never  go 
home.  None  of  the  wise  men  ever  heard 
of  such  things.     "What  shall  we  do  ?  " 

"  It  is  easy  enough  to  wrap  fire  in  paper," 


THE  LANTERN  AND  THE   FAN.  207 

answered  the  yoice.  "  Here  is  a  piece  of 
paper.  Now  watch."  They  watched,  and 
the  strangest  thing  in  all  the  world  hap- 
pened right  before  their  eyes.  There  was 
no  one  to  be  seen,  but  a  piece  of  paper 
appeared  on  the  ground  and  folded  itself 
into  a  Japanese  lantern.  **  Now  put  a  candle 
inside,*'  said  the  voice,  "and  you  have  paper 
holding  fire.     What  more  could  you  ask  ?  " 

Then  the  older  woman  was  happy,  but 
the  younger  was  still  sad.  She  saw  now  that 
fire  could  be  carried  in  paper,  but  surely  no 
one  could  carry  wind.  "  O  dear  voice,"  she 
cried,  **  can  any  one  carry  wind  in  paper  ?  " 

"  That  is  much  easier  than  to  carry  fire," 
replied  the  voice,  **  for  wind  does  not  burn 
holes.     Watch." 

They  watched  eagerly.  Another  piece 
of  paper  came  all  by  itself  and  lay  on  the 
ground  between  them.  There  was  a  picture 
on  it  of  a  tree  covered  with  white  blossoms. 
Two  women  stood  under  the  tree,  gathering 
the  blossoms. 

"  The  two  women  are  yourselves,"   said 


208     THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

the  voice,  "  and  the  blossoms  are  the  gifts 
that  the  father-in-law  will  give  you  when  you 
go  home." 

**  But  I  cannot  go  home,"  the  younger 
wailed,  "for  I  cannot  carry  wind  wrapped 
in  paper." 

"  Here  is  the  paper,  and  there  is  always 
plenty  of  wind.     Why  not  take  them  ?  " 

"  Indeed,  I  do  not  know  how,"  the  younger 
woman  answered  sorrowfully. 

"  This  way,  of  course,"  said  the  voice. 
Some  long,  light  twigs  flew  to  the  paper. 
It  folded  itself,  over,  under,  together.  It 
opened  and  closed,  and  it  waved  itself  before 
the  tearful  face  of  the  younger  woman. 
"  Does  not  the  wind  come  to  your  face  ?  " 
asked  the  voice,  "and  is  it  not  the  fan  that 
has  brought  it.^  The  lantern  carries  fire 
wrapped  in  paper,  and  the  fan  carries  wind 
wrapped  in  paper." 

Then,  indeed,  the  two  young  women  were 
happy,  and  when  they  came  to  the  home  of 
their  father-in-law,  he  was  as  glad  as  they. 
He  gave  them  beautiful  gifts  of  gold  and 


THE  LANTERN  AND  THE  FAN.  209 

silver,  and  he  said,  "  No  one  ever  had  such 
marvels  before  as  the  lantern  and  the  fan, 
but  in  my  home  there  are  two  more  pre- 
cious things  than  these,  and  they  are  my 
two  dear  daughters." 


VOCABULARY  OF  THE  BOOK  OF  NATURE  MYTHS. 

Note  —  This  vocabulary  is  supplementary  to  that  of  The  Hiawatha 
Primer.  Nouus  and  verbs  which  are  inflected  regularly  are  entered  under 
but  one  form. 


Pages  1-4 

wound 

eggs 

first 

head 

busy 

humming-bird 

crest 

taking 

ago 

another 

care 

know 

blood 

well 

flames 

Pages  19-28 

Pages  34-36 

last 

serpent 

raven 

people 

hissed 

thief 

Pages  4-7 

cat 

happened 

again 

shut 

wood-worm 

fled 

quick 

only 

Pages  7-9 

always 

himself 

grew 

fall 

pieces 

Pages  10-12 

Pages  23-28 

Pages  36-40 

butterflies 

swallow 

more 

stones 

tail 

gone 

some 

forked 

^' 

would 

animals 

men 

year 

any 

could 

meet 

wolf 

beauty 

mosquito 

pond 

life 

whose 

near 

Pages  13-15 

tore 

bat 

woodpecker 

tongue 

rain 

man 

Pages  28-31 

quickly 

cake 

hares 

Pages  40^41 

bake 

snowflakes 

catch 

feet 

caught 

large 

fire-brand 

tried 

small 

Pages  31-34 

curled 

Pages  15-19 

magpie 

throw 

magician 

time 

Pages  4h  4^ 

fever 

home 

fast 

breath 

warm 

hand 

shot 

brought 

soon 

fight 

merrily 

Pages  43-46 

«yer 

sorry 

quail 

212 


VOCABULARY. 


snipe 

mock 

choose 

never 

Pages  60-6 Jj, 

which 

crept 

fox 

wise 

carrying 

sheep 

than 

pulled 
.   bill 

cows 

eagle 

fields 

wisest 

legs 

growl 

Pages  79-82 

mole 

should 

often 

Pages  Jff-fyQ 

Mr. 

does 

sheds 

eaten 

wicked 

grandfather 

cream 

strange 

marsh 

Pages  6^67 

knife 

drink 

girl 

sharpen 

drank 

whom 

harm 

burst 

treated 

Pages  83-86 

dope 

sister 

grasshopper 

off 

happy 

country 

Pages  50-52 

please 

Tithonus 

dove 

covered 

goddess 

manito 

really 

Aurora 

brave 

Pages  68-70 

begged 

crying 

troubles 

speak 

Hoots 

lies 

roamed 

too 

remember 

fairest 

known 

dies 

immortal 

most 

lip 

Pages  86-89 

Pages  52-56 

split 

oriole 

parrot 

Pages  70-72 

power 

repeats 

peetweet 

ruler 

truth 

flies 

master 

ox 

eagerly 

yield 

owner 

lakes 

clouds 

yes" 

hollows 

lightning 

villagers 

thirsty 

may 

punish 

Pages  72-75 

hornet 

next 

short 

Pages  89-98 

think 

fish 

peacock 
Juno 

jar 

such 

even 

easy 

queen 

storm 

ice 

world 

thunder 

frozen 

played 

mocking-bird 

hole 

tricks 

replied 

worse 

Argue 

Pages  56-59 

slowly 

hundred 

cunning 

angrily 

Mercury 

baby 

■wish 

belonged 

voices 

Pages  76-78 

Pages  93-95 

owned 

wren 

bees 

own 

king 

tribes 

VOCABULARY. 


213 


while 

harp 

Holda 

honey 

touched 

Pages  133-135 

Pages  96-98 

strings 

cranberries 

rich 

wailing 

meadow 

poor 

Pages  114-117 

cranberry 

sowed 

emeralds 

woods 

ground 

vase 

hominy 

seed 

precious 

Pages  135-138 

mine 

air 

salt 

Pages  98-102 

India 

Frothi 

ant3 

roll 

millstones 

full 

waves 

grind 

almost 

deepest 

gate 

house 

Paaes  118-122 
flown 

rest 

sense 

weary 

smell 

berries 

ship 

pearl 

broken 

else 

lost 

might 

bottom 

dire 

spring 

Pages  IS8-I4I 

named 

willow 

crane 

ha&r 

spruce 

hold 

box 

juniper 

bitterly 

bagged 

Pages  122-125 

witch 

Pages  103-106 

aspen 

obey 

face 

guides 

surely 

after 

swarm 

taken 

top 

reason 

Pages  1^-1^5 
Turtle 

gaze 

despise 

side 

both 

fierce 

far-away 

anywhere 

dare 

Paaes  107-110 
diamonds 

places 

ready 

Pages  125-128 

sure 

chief 

heather 

shields 

enemies 

plants 

breast 

stolen 

contented 

arms 

search 

violet 

just 

mourned 

fragrance 

declared 

wife 

daisy 

Pages  145-150 

Moneta 

chose 

crocodile 

mother 

Pages  128-132 

wide 

tears 

flax 

mouth 

indeed 

sight 

kingdom 

Pages  III-II4 
Runoia 

haU 

calm 

sparkling 

swim 

shyly 

gift 

suddenly 

true 

spin 

dragged 

sweet 

weave 

open 

Wod» 

Uuen 

214 

VOCABULARY. 

anything 

spread 

Pages  184-188 
delightful 

carried 

message 

sword 

dropped 

imagined 

able 

Pages  169-172 

comer 

Pages  150-15J^ 

idea 

luxuries 

Japau 

rarely 

arrange 

picture 

lynx 

promised 

changing 

twice 

agreed 

dragon 

wolverine 

charming 

island 

chanced 

suppose 

mean 

realized 

stay 

used 

fingers 

invite 

tell 

arched 

invitation 

moment 

end 

bring 

Pages  155-159 

nose 

Pages  188-19S 

pass 

boo-hoo 

monkey 

perhaps 
brooks 

Pages  172-175 

plan 

otter 

shook 

better 

badger 

rather 

followed 

summit 

paws 

course 

climb 

something 

hurt 

reach 

part 
behave 

left 

floor 

enough 

Pages  175-179 

toward 

felt 

snowdrop 

fruit 

pleasant 

deeds 

welcome 

quiet 

muttered 

hungry 

playmates 
forgotten 

counted 

Pages  193-197 

outside 

hill 

complained 

interrupted 

Jack 

Pages  160-164 

rumors 

Jill 

cousins 

whether 

plenty 

quarreled 

tales 

pail 

less 

gravely 

especially 

hard 

turn 

g^me 

ought 

shake 

spilled 

mount 

appear 

tumbling 

hunger 

Pages  179-m 

crown 

weak 

tiny 

Pages  197-200 

pretty 

neither 

gather 

daughter 

grove 

sticks 

Paaes  165-168 
dream 

invisible 

to-morrow 

discovered 

Sunday 

radiant 

became 

dinner 

raised 

blow 

burn 

peaks 

fell 

sternly 

rough 

deep 

cook 

unkind 

try 

to-day 
Monday 

8U7 

faUen 

VOCABULARY. 

Pages  200-904 

grown 

wives 

front 

ourselves 

since 

window 

Pages  204-209 

visit 

twins 

fan 

unless 

kissed 

lantern 

wrapped 

tired 

distance 

paper 

way 

law 

folded 

hour 

months 

under 

frightened 

215 


YB  78394 


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